There's been a lot of debate over President Trump's penchant for having the U.S. government take equity stakes in private companies, which continued this week with two new deals.

• But one thing is indisputable: These investments boost company value, at least in the short term.

Why it matters: Positive stock performance helps explain why so many free-market capitalists have signed onto something that seems more socialist than not. And why others will do so when given the opportunity.

By the numbers: The White House appears to have agreed to equity deals with nine companies, most which are publicly traded.

• The public cohort saw their share prices climb an average of 85% between the time of announcement (or press leak, if earlier) and yesterday, per an Axios analysis.
• Intel shares, for example, have more than doubled since the chipmaker agreed to sell a 9.9% equity stake to the U.S. government last August.
• Trilogy Metals shares are up 171%, while MEP Materials stock has seen a 122% jump.

Carveouts: The average increase doesn't include the "golden share" in U.S. Steel, which now is owned by Japan's Nippon Steel.

• Also not included are deals with private companies (e.g., Vulcan Elements, xLight) or bespoke revenue-share deals (e.g., AMD, Nvidia).
• We also excluded L3Harris, which on Tuesday agreed to a $1 billion investment from the Pentagon that could be converted into equity if the company's missile business goes public. L3Harris shares spiked briefly on the news, but since reverted to pre-announcement levels.

The bottom line: So long as the values keep rising, the deals will keep coming.

Devon Energy (NYSE: DVN) and Coterra Energy (NYSE: CTRA) are in early merger talks, per multiple reports.

Why it's the BFD: A tie-up would create one of the country's largest independent shale producers.

• There's also a chance that Coterra is hoping to solicit other bidders.

By the numbers: Devon shares traded down around 4% on the news, giving it a $23 billion market cap, while Coterra gained 1.5% to bring its market cap close to $20 billion.

The intrigue: Kimmeridge, an energy-focused PE firm that also has a public company engagement practice, has been pushing for changes at Coterra and also has a small position in Devon.

The bottom line: "Oil prices are modest and lots of the good Permian Basin acreage is drilled, which means scale and efficiency are increasingly coveted." — Ben Geman, Axios

• ClickHouse, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based database startup, raised $400m at a $15b valuation. Dragoneer led, joined by Bessemer Venture Partners, GIC, Index Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Lightspeed, T. Rowe Price, and WCM Investment Management. axios.link/49JSYIB

• Tulip, a Boston-based provider of factory automation software, raised $120m in Series D funding at a $1.3b valuation led by Mitsubishi Electric. axios.link/4qUmKBg

• Higgsfield, an SF-based AI video generation startup, raised $80m in Series A extension funding at a $1.3b valuation from Accel, GFT Ventures, and Menlo Ventures. axios.link/4sDtTb3

🚀 Hydrosat, a Washington-based thermal imagery startup, raised $60m in Series B funding. Hartree Partners, Subutai Capital Partners and Space 4 Earth led, joined by Truffle Capital, Luxembourg Future Fund, OTB Ventures, Blue Bear Capital, Statkraft Ventures, Cultivation Capital, and Santa Barbara Venture Partners. axios.link/4b1eNpt

• TaleMonster Games, a Turkish gaming studio, raised $30m in Series A funding. Arcadia Gaming Partners and a16z led, joined by Point72 Ventures and General Catalyst. axios.link/4qMHWsQ

• Holywater, a Ukrainian provider of a microdrama app, raised $22m in Series A funding. Horizon Capital led, joined by Endeavor Catalyst and Wheelhouse. axios.link/4aX2TNe

• Karman Industries, a Signal Hill, Calif.-based developer of thermal architecture solutions for giga-scale data centers, raised $20m in Series A funding. Riot Ventures led, joined by Sunflower Capital, Space VC, Wonder Ventures, and Pat Gelsinger. axios.link/4bzsnQT

• Otto Sport AI, an operating system for youth sports organizations, raised $16.5m in seed funding led by Rally Ventures and Mamba Growth Equity. axios.link/4qVchp9

• Transition Metal Solutions, an SF-based metal extraction startup, raised $6m in seed funding led by Transition Ventures. axios.link/3YLjzQu

• Slips, an LA-based P2P betting company, raised $3.5m in seed funding led by Las Olas Capital and Sunset Bay Capital. axios.link/4k1Xk2J

• RouteSense, a Salt Lake City-based payments data analytics company, raised a $2m pre-seed round led by Redbud VC, with participation from FOVC, Cultivation Capital, Service Provider Capital, and the University of Missouri AACE Fund. axios.link/3NfJcXj

• Accel-KKR acquired a majority stake in Nutrislice, a Denver-based provider of digital dining solutions for non-commercial foodservice. axios.link/3LPLyLU

🚑 Apollo Care, a Flexpoint Ford portfolio company, acquired eStrat, a Raleigh, N.C.-based copay and patient access solutions company. axios.link/4qS33tR

• Butterfly Equity acquired ePac, an Austin, Texas-based provider of digitally printed flexible packaging. axios.link/49qP3S4

• Five Arrows invested in StarRez, a Greenwood Village, Colo.-based student housing software firm backed by Vista Equity Partners. axios.link/3Nxs1jP

• GracoRoberts, a CM Equity Partners portfolio company, acquired Sky Mart, a Miami-based distributor of aerospace lubricants. axios.link/4bAR9Ad

• Infoblox, backed by Vista Equity and Warburg Pincus, agreed to acquire Axur, a Brazilian cybersecurity company focused on external threat disruption and continuous threat exposure management. axios.link/4qVIQn9

⚡ Lime Rock Partners invested in Athena Energy Partners, a Houston-based oil and gas firm focused on assets in South Texas. axios.link/3NkT02a

• One Rock Capital Partners acquired a majority stake in Pennsauken, N.J.-based American Furniture Rentals. axios.link/45gwmOt

• Platinum Equity acquired Tongrun International, a Bonham, Texas-based sheet-metal contract manufacturer. axios.link/4qo0L63

• Purpose Legal, a Blue Sage Capital portfolio company, acquired Hire Counsel, a provider of managed review and legal staffing services. axios.link/4qpIEN6

• RelayFireandSafety, backed by The Riverside Co., acquired AC&M Fire Equipment, an Acton, Mass.-based provider of fire extinguisher services. axios.link/45SYgjK

🚑 WindRose Health Investors acquired Avalon Healthcare Solutions, a Tampa, Fla.-based provider of diagnostic intelligence for payors, from Francisco Partners. axios.link/4qQkb37

• FG Imperii Acquisition, a financial services SPAC, raised $200m in its IPO. axios.link/43cmdRQ

• Madison Air, a Chicago-based provider of provider of ventilation and filtration systems, plans to seek at least $2b in a U.S. IPO, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4bkVrvJ

• Apollo Global Management agreed to sell a $150m stake in Legendary Entertainment to the parent company of Tokyo Broadcasting System (Tokyo: 9401) at more than a $4b valuation. axios.link/4qUZoLQ

• Cloudflare (NYSE: NET) acquired Human Native, a London-based AI data marketplace that had been seeded by Advance Venture Partners and Mercuri. axios.link/4b3plEq

⚡ Mitsubishi Corp. (Tokyo: 8058) is in advanced talks to buy the a U.S. shale production and infrastructure assets of Dallas-based energy investment firm Aethon Energy Management for $7.53b (including assumed debt). axios.link/49Y45yM

• Phenom, an Ambler, Pa.-based HR tech company that's raised over $160m in VC funding, acquired Included, a Kirkland, Wash.-based people analytics platform whose backers included Trilogy Equity Partners, Flying Fish Partners, SignalFire, and Ascend VC. axios.link/4jKNOAO

• TransDigm (NYSE: TDG) agreed to acquire Jet Parts Engineering and Victor Sierra Aviation from Vance Street Capital for around $2.2b in cash. axios.link/4aXo1D3

• Beast Industries, the company formed by YouTube creator Jimmy Donaldson, raised $200m from Ethereum treasury company Bitmine. axios.link/4qy9eUf

🎵 Cutting Edge Group of London acquired composer John Paesano's catalog of film, TV, and video games scores. axios.link/49WuJrQ

• DTCP of Germany is raising €500m for a fund focused on European defense and security tech. axios.link/3Zdw0Vl

• Artemis, a Boston-based PE firm focused on industrial tech, promoted Jesse Moran and Nick Reyes to partner and principal, respectively. The firm also hired Mark Mueller (ex-CBIZ) as finance manager. axios.link/4bvvWrq

• Bling Capital promoted Eric Theis to partner. axios.link/3LMLvR6

• Jason Henderson (ex-Heidrick & Struggles) and Mariano Malvicino (Walmart) joined Stellex Capital Management as head of portfolio talent and director of portfolio talent, respectively. axios.link/4sHubNZ

• Santiago López-Vilas, former CEO of Real Madrid Estadio, joined Arctos as an operating partner. axios.link/4qOQrDY

🌍 Julia Travaglini was promoted to head of the Boston incubator for Greentown Labs. axios.link/4jLDNTU

• Yukon Partners promoted CFO and COO Corey Peters to partner. axios.link/45cYUbE

Venture capital still is taking much more cash from limited partners than it's giving back, continuing a trend that began before the AI boom.

• Small caveat that such data is on a lag. That means it doesn't reflect some of the big AI exits from Q4, although it's unlikely that there were enough to get cash flows into positive territory.