Mark Walter's surprise sale of the Los Angeles Lakers is drawing attention to the ties between private credit and life insurance, and could lead to greater scrutiny, Axios' Emily Peck writes.

The big picture: Alt asset giants have spent the past decade buying life insurers that then put money into private credit deals that are tough for regulators to track.

• Sometimes the same parent firm sits on both sides of the investment. One of its affiliates originates loans or packages them into securities, and an insurer it owns then buys them.

Driving the news: Federal regulators are looking into loans made by Walter-controlled insurance companies to Walter-controlled businesses.

• Insurance companies he controlled reportedly helped finance his 2012 purchase of the Dodgers and later funded other Walter-linked businesses.
• Walter-controlled insurers are now unwinding loans made to affiliated businesses and seeking to raise cash, Bloomberg reported yesterday.

Zoom in: Critics say such deals can create conflicts of interest that put people's life insurance money at risk.

• One paper this year, from finance and accounting professors at Wharton, calls the life insurance money a "captive source of capital," and finds that PE-owned insurers "pay systematically higher prices when buying from affiliated issuers."

The other side: Private credit firms say that the insurers are investing in typically high-quality assets and that they're tightly regulated.

• State regulators require firms to disclose affiliated investments — and larger investments might require more notice.

What to watch: Delaware's review of Aquarian's deal for life insurer Brighthouse Financial.

• Also how much insurance money flows into that new $500 billion financing deal with Nvidia.

The bottom line: As Semafor's Liz Hoffman put it: "Finance's hottest party may have found its pooper."

JBS (NYSE: JBS) of Brazil offered to buy the 18% stake it doesn't already hold in Colorado-based Pilgrim's Pride (Nasdaq: PPC) for around $1.2 billion in stock.

Why it's the BFD: This would give the world's largest meatpacker full control of America's second-largest poultry producer (behind Tyson Foods).

By the numbers: Pilgrim's Pride stock is down over 28% on the year, while JBS is off nearly 4% in New York.

The bottom line: JBS bought Pilgrim's Pride out of bankruptcy in 2009, and four years ago tried buying the minority stake it didn't already hold. But that deal didn't move forward, in part because São Paulo-listed JBS didn't have a U.S. stock currency to offer Pilgrim's Pride investors.

• That changed when JBS did a 2025 listing on the NYSE.

• Etched, a San Jose, Calif.-based builder of frontier inference clusters, raised $700m at a $21b valuation. Jane Street led, joined by Kleiner Perkins, Sequoia, a16z, Tiger Global, Bain Capital Ventures, Neo, Primary, Stripes, Positive Sum, and Blackstone. axios.link/4ch0ywD

• Velaura AI, a Santa Clara, Calif.-based developer of ultra-low-power silicon and software solutions, raised $110m in Series A funding. Seligman Ventures led, joined by Capricorn Investment Group, Prosperity7 Ventures and insiders Mayfield, Maverick Silicon, MARA, Premji Invest, Samsung Catalyst Fund, and StepStone Group. axios.link/45BAcS3

🚑 Abcuro, a Newton, Mass.-based biotech focused on autoimmune diseases and cancer, raised $66m in Series D funding. New Leaf Venture Partners led, joined by abrdn, Bain Capital Life Sciences, Samsara BioCapital, Redmile Group, Mass General Brigham Ventures, RA Capital Management, Pontifax, Sanofi Ventures, Foresite Capital, NEA, Eurofarma Ventures, Kaitai Capital, Soleus Capital, Nancy Chang, Shang Bay, and Rock Springs Capital. axios.link/4gEfAPl

• Smack Technologies, an Austin, Texas-based provider of battlefield software, raised $61m in Series B funding. Costanoa Ventures and First In led, joined by Point72 Ventures, Geodesic Capital, Nomi Capital, Felicis, Sapphire Ventures, Scribble Ventures, Fortitude Ventures, Bloomberg Beta, and Palumni VC. axios.link/4zoDPbN

🚑 Hopscotch Primary Care, a Chicago-based provider of primary care for rural communities, raised $53m in Series D funding. 8VC and Townhall Ventures led, joined by aMoon Fund, Citi Impact Fund, Alumni Ventures, K2 HealthVentures, Autism Impact Fund, John Doerr, Richard Merkin, and the Leon Levine Foundation. axios.link/4qoVb3W

🚑 Network Bio, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based developer of disease-specific AI models, raised $50m from Section 32, Thiel Bio, Founders Fund, Breyer Capital, Blue Venture Fund, and JSL Health Capital. axios.link/3U6e3J7

• Rundoo, a Redwood City, Calif., provider of a system of record for independent supply stores, raised $30m in Series B funding. Battery Ventures led, joined by insiders Bessemer Venture Partners and CRV. rundoo.ai

• Flip, a German frontline worker experience platform, raised $25m from L-Bank and insiders Notion Capital and HV Capital. axios.link/4wVA1wl

• Queen One, an NYC-based CRM, raised $25m from insiders Mercury Fund, Full In, CT Innovations, CP Overture, Charge Ventures, and Inspired Capital. axios.link/4xSHAEQ

• Prevalent AI, a London-based enterprise cybersecurity platform, raised $22m from Integrity Growth Partners. axios.link/45wg1oJ

• Relativity Networks, a Winter Park, Fla.-based developer of hollow-core fiber, raised $22m in SAFE note funding from Rhapsody Venture Partners, Bell Ventures, and Faster Than Glass. axios.link/3U6EJtg

• Ampaire, a Long Beach, Calif.-based developer of hybrid-electric propulsion systems for aircraft, raised $19m in Series B funding. DiamondStream Partners led, joined by Alaska Airlines and International Airlines Group. axios.link/4gFtW1O

• Quartr, a Swedish data layer for institutional finance, raised $18m. Altos Ventures led, joined by SEB. axios.link/4wBi2eo

• Sonic Fire Tech, a Columbus, Ohio-based developer of acoustic fire suppression systems for data centers, commercial kitchens and homes, raised $15m. The O.H.I.O. Fund led, joined by Khosla Ventures. axios.link/4hHrPeZ

• Thunder Compute, a provider of virtualization software "that turns idle GPUs into additional capacity," raised $13m in Series A funding. Matrix Partners led, joined by YC and CEAS Investments. axios.link/4gjwxxk

🚑 Enginprime Medical, a Chinese maker of percutaneous ventricular assist devices, raised $12m in Series A funding led by Qiming Venture Partners. axios.link/4zhwXNc

• Medly AI, a U.K. exam prep platform, raised $8m in seed funding. Felix Capital led, joined by Eka Ventures and Ada Ventures. axios.link/4gm77io

• Xpander, an enterprise AI utilization platform, raised $7.5m in seed funding. Pico Venture Partners led, joined by participation from Emerge Ventures, Samsung Next, and SeedIL. axios.link/4bV7ZJz

• Synthefy, an SF-based developer of structured data foundation models for numerical data, raised $6.5m in seed funding. Wing Venture Capital led, joined by Haystack, Samsung Next, Canonical, and Lightscape. axios.link/4zixxu6

🌎 Computomics, a German crop breeding startup, raised €6.3m in Series B funding. Convent Capital led, joined by HTG, MBG Baden-Württemberg and Amathaon Capital axios.link/467Zp6R

• Codio, a Cambridge, Mass.-based technical education platform, raised $5m led by Armada Investment. axios.link/4wBi5a4

🚑 Capitan Orthopedics, a Grand Rapids, Mich.-based designer of implant products for shoulder surgery, raised a $4.1m seed round. axios.link/45Eu5MS

• AntSeed, a P2P network for inference, raised $2.4m. Spark Capital led, joined by North Island, Collider, and Relay. axios.link/4hHRRPh

• Singular Photonics, a Scottish image sensor developer, raised $2.15m led by ACF Investors, with participation from Wren Capital, Cambridge Angels, Scottish Enterprise, Quantum Exponential, and Old College Capital. axios.link/4gpNOVB

🚑 Aisel Health, a Danish OS for psychiatry and mental health, raised €1.7m in pre-seed funding. Caesar Ventures led, joined by Nordic Web Ventures, LifeX, Angel Invest, Rockstart, and EIFO. axios.link/4wDYPZv

⚡ Ardian acquired minority stakes in Texas-based wind farms Horse Creek and Electra from a Munich Re subsidiary. axios.link/3SmYyMe

• EQT acquired a majority stake in Australian rugby club Melbourne Storm. axios.link/4y9xgZl

🚑 Guidant Power, backed by Shore Capital, acquired Dyna Scan Technical Services, a Cincinnati-based infrared inspection firm specializing in health-care facilities. axios.link/3U8Ht9s

• Genstar Capital is investing in Ascensus, a Dresher, Pa.-based retirement and savings account provider it sold to Stone Point Capital in 2021. Genstar and Stone Point now will be co-owners. axios.link/4xNW08X

🚽 John To Go, an Ironwood Capital portfolio company, acquired Bravo Site Services, a Long Island-based portable toilet and trailer rental provider. johntogo.com

⚡️ KKR offered to acquire natural-gas and electricity distributor UGI Corp (NYSE: UGI) for roughly $9b, or $42.50 a share, per WSJ. axios.link/45Eu1N8

• KKR also invested up to $50m for a 6% stake in BookMyShow, an Indian ticketing and live entertainment platform. axios.link/3S2hNe9

• Oakley Capital agreed to buy a majority stake in Graphwise, a Bulgarian provider of knowledge graph and semantic data technology. Sellers are Integral Capital Group, Portfolion Capital Partners, and Carpathian Partners. axios.link/4ii5oNC

🚑 Providence Equity Partners agreed to acquire a majority stake in CheckedUp, an NYC-based patient education and engagement tech company, from Rockbridge Growth Equity. Varsity Healthcare Partners is taking a minority stake. axios.link/3SeMo8m

• PSG invested in XBE, a Kansas City, Mo.-based "system of action" for heavy materials, logistics, and construction teams. axios.link/3Si5qdO

• Ridgeview agreed to buy U.K. auto services firm Pinewood Technologies (LSE: PINE) for £545m. Pinewood previously agreed to a deal with Apax, which later bailed. axios.link/4cwmMKV

• Risepoint, backed by The Vistria Group, acquired the North American operations of Keypath Education, a health-care education company. axios.link/3TVM7rt

• River Associates Investments acquired Diamond Wipes, a Chino, Calif.-based wet wipe maker. axios.link/4xMSkEw

• Summit Restoration Group, backed by Point 41, acquired Capital Construction Services and Capital Fire & Water, Richmond, Va.-based emergency response and rebuild groups. axios.link/4xOXNe8

• Trinity Consultants, backed by Veritas Capital and Oak Hill Capital, acquired Sacramento-based environmental consultancy Verux. axios.link/4hH2phM

• Turnspire Capital Partners acquired Hulcher Services, a Denton, Texas-based provider of rail infrastructure, maintenance, and field services. axios.link/4x8ySSH

• Uplift Investors is acquiring Engage Fi, a financial services tech consultant, from Falfurrias Management Partners. axios.link/4geVUjD

• VALD, backed by FTV Capital, acquired both BridgeAthletic (strength/conditioning software) and GymAware (training tech). axios.link/4cO3pNs

• Vensure Employer Solutions, a Stone Point Capital portfolio company, acquired TecsPal, an SF-based provider of IT asset management for remote teams. vensure.com

• Lyntris, a defense-tech rollup backed by Trive Capital, raised $297.5m in its IPO. It priced 17m shares at $17.50, versus plans to offer 24m shares at $19-$22, and will list on the NYSE (LYNX). axios.link/4z8e7Ip

• Karman Line Acquisition, an aerospace SPAC formed by Meteora Capital, raised $200m in its IPO. axios.link/4xNOKdd

• Quantexa, a British decision intelligence platform, is planning an IPO in either the U.K. or U.S., its CEO tells Reuters. The company has raised over $500m and was valued last year at $2.6b. Backers include Dawn Capital, Warburg Pincus, Teachers' Venture Growth, AlbionVC, Evolution Equity Partners, and British Patient Capital. axios.link/3U8QOy3

• Upstox, an Indian online trading platform, is planning to raise up to $400m in a domestic IPO, per Bloomberg. It's raised over $50m from firms like Kalaari Capital and Tiger Global. axios.link/4x4dSN3

🚑 BioMarin (Nasdaq: BMRN) is paying $275m upfront to buy Alesta Therapeutics, a developer of oral therapies for rare bone disease that had raised over $60m from Frazier Healthcare Partners, Droia Ventures, Novartis Venture Fund, RV Invest, SSI Strategy, Thuja Capital Management, and RTW Investments. axios.link/4qtzfFc

🚑 Columna Capital sold its majority stake in French dental care provider Ardentis Cliniques Dentaires to Medbase, part of Migros Group. axios.link/4zkYwW9

• Checkr, valued by VCs at $4.6b, acquired Truv, a Las Vegas-based financial verification tech company that had raised $30m from Kleiner Perkins, Abstract Ventures, Soma Capital, and Nyca Partners. axios.link/3UH8gd9

• EQT is weighing a sale of ILA Vietnam, an English language education business in Vietnam that could fetch around $500m, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4wxa1qF

• Lattice, valued by VCVs at $3b, acquired Pando, an employee performance tool that had raised over $10m from firms like Craft Ventures, Autopilot Fund, Harper Ventures, and Gaingels. axios.link/4qoNzyH

• DB Cargo of Germany reportedly is seeking to sell its U.K. railfreight business. axios.link/4igMJSr

⚡ Equinor (Oslo: EQNR) acquired an 87.7% stake in the Lackawanna Energy Center, a 1,483 MW gas-fired combined cycle power plant in Pennsylvania, for $940m from Invenergy. axios.link/4zm4IwU

• Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) will pay up to $410m to acquire LCN Capital Partners, an investment manager specializing in real estate sale-leasebacks, build-to-suit, and triple net leases. axios.link/4gkAh1C

🚑 Trusted Health, an SF-based health care workforce technology company, acquired ShiftOS, an SF-based AI scheduling agent for hospitals and health systems. axios.link/4wzkp10

• Broadwing, a Dallas-based PE firm focused on midmarket manufacturing and services companies, raised $440m for its debut fund. axios.link/4xS8z3q

• Ninety One raised $404m for its third Africa credit opportunities fund. axios.link/4xenxko

• QuantumLight, a London-based VC firm founded by Revolut CEO Nik Storonsky, raised $500m for its second fund. axios.link/4cHJ7VR

• Manish Patel joined XYZ Venture Capital as a general partner. He previously was with Nava Ventures. axios.link/3UF4d0W

• Nick Theccanat left Blue Owl Capital, where he was managing director of comms and public affairs, to become a managing director at ICR. axios.link/4wyoClG

• Scale Venture Partners promoted Sidd Ramakrishnan to partner. axios.link/45A8Uvu

Global bond yields keep climbing, which could reduce investing.

• It's getting harder to dismiss as a temporary market tantrum, Axios' Courtenay Brown writes.
• Nonetheless, Scott Bessent is trying to stem the tide. The Treasury Dept this morning announced plans to "more than double the size of its government debt repurchases," sending yields lower.