Here's the good news for Donald Trump: His stake in the parent company of Truth Social could be worth more than $3 billion.

• That's easily enough to pay off his $454 million penalty (including interest) for civil fraud in New York, plus the $83.3 million he owes for defaming writer E. Jean Carroll. Plus all those pesky legal fees.

Here's the bad news for Donald Trump: There's yet another hiccup in the effort to take Truth Social public.

• This one involves two co-founders of Trump Media & Technology Group, Andy Litinsky and Wes Moss, who have threatened to try to block the deal unless they receive two board seats to which they claim they're entitled.
• That's per an 8-K filing from Digital World Acquisition, the blank-check company seeking to merge with TMTG.
• Earlier in the month, DWAC disclosed a compensation dispute with its own former CEO, Patrick Orlando, which it said "presents a risk to our ability to consummate the business combination on a timely basis (or at all)."

Look ahead: DWAC has scheduled a March 22 shareholder vote, having recently received SEC approval to merge, but has repeatedly delayed such votes in the past.

• If the vote occurs and succeeds, Trump still would need to obtain a lockup provision waiver if he wanted to sell shares within the first six months, as noted by the NY Times' Matthew Goldstein.
• That, of course, could get complicated by who's ultimately on the board.

The bottom line: This merger is as chaotic as the early days of the Trump administration and, in classic Trump fashion, involves former business partners claiming they're owed more than they're getting.

Cox Enterprises agreed to acquire OpenGov, a San Francisco-based provider of cloud software to local and state governments, for $1.8 billion.

Why it's the BFD: State and local governments are seeking to digitize, partially spurred by Inflation Reduction Act dollars.

Cap table: OpenGov had raised over $190 million from firms like Andreessen Horowitz, JC2 Ventures, 8VC, Weatherford Capital, Founder Collective, and Streamlined Ventures.

Of note: Cox owns Axios, which means we'll be corporate cousins with OpenGov. I've never been related to someone worth $1.8 billion, so really looking forward to the holiday gifts.

Behind the scenes: Cox CFO Dallas Clement says that the company first invested in OpenGov by acquiring secondary shares, and then upped its stake by underwriting a 2022 acquisition for Cartegraph.

• OpenGov then told investors last year that it was going to begin IPO prep, which spurred Cox make the acquisition offer, which OpenGov CEO Zac Bookman says is philosophically similar to an IPO in that employees remain invested while also getting liquidity. All the VC shareholders will exit.
• Expect Cox to use OpenGov as something of an acquisition platform.

The bottom line: OpenGov is the embodiment of "software is eating the world," a phrase coined in 2011 by longtime OpenGov board director Marc Andreessen.

• Glean, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based AI enterprise search startup, raised over $200m in Series D funding at a $2.2b valuation. Kleiner Perkins and Lightspeed co-led, and were joined by Sequoia Capital, Coatue, Iconiq Growth, IVP, Latitude Capital, Adams Street, Capital One Ventures, Citi, Databricks Ventures, Workday Ventures, and General Catalyst. https://axios.link/3SXBMH8

🍓 Oishii, a Jersey City, N.J.-based vertical grower of strawberries and tomatoes, raised $134m in Series B funding. Japan's NTT led, and was joined by Bloom8, McWin Capital Partners, Mizuho Bank, Mitsubishi Shokuhin Co., JICN, and Yaskawa Electric. https://axios.link/3uQIbfi

🚑 Mainstay Medical, a Dublin-based maker of medical devices for treating back pain, raised $125m co-led by Gilde Healthcare and Viking Global Investors. https://axios.link/4bQcIuq

• Unseenlabs, a French maritime surveillance startup, raised €85m. Supernova Invest, ISALT, and UNEXO co-led, and were joined by insiders 360 Capital, OMNES, Bpifrance, UI Investissement, and S2G Ventures. https://axios.link/3ThBbBK

🚑 Aktiia, a Swiss maker of wearable blood pressure monitors, raised $30m. Redalpine led, and was joined by Khosla Ventures, Molten, Translink Capital, Verve, and 415 Capital. www.aktiia.com

• Photoroom, a French photo-editing app, raised $43m at a $500m valuation. Balderton Capital led, and was joined by Aglaé and YC. https://axios.link/3TdkLtV

• Ether.fi, a liquid restaking protocol, raised $23m co-led by Bullish Capital and CoinFiund. www.ether.fi

🚑 Pelage Pharmaceuticals, an LA-based developer of hair loss treatments, raised nearly $17m in Series A funding. GV led, and was joined by Main Street Advisors, Visionary Ventures, and YK BioVentures. https://axios.link/4bTVCvK

🚑 Redi Health, a Columbus, Ohio-based medication adherence and patient engagement platform, raised $14m in Series B funding, per Axios Pro. Blue Heron Capital led, and was joined by North Coast Ventures and insiders Refinery Ventures, MCP, Rev1 Ventures, and M25. https://axios.link/4bUIXIJ

• Coverdash, a New York-based SMB-focused insuretech, raised $13.5m in Series A funding. Nyca Partners led, and was joined by insiders Bling Capital, AXIS Digital Ventures, Tokio Marine Future Fund, Expansion VC, and Cameron Ventures. https://axios.link/4bWQR4o

• NLX, a New York-based voice AI startup, raised $12m in Series A funding led by Cercano. https://axios.link/3uOMBDq

• Parspec, a construction product procurement platform, raised $11.5m in seed funding. Innovation Endeavors led, and was joined by Building Ventures, Heartland Ventures, and Hometeam Ventures. www.parspec.io

• Initia, a startup focused on simplifying blockchain development, raised $7.5m in seed funding. Delphi Ventures and HackVC co-led, and were joined by Nascent, Figment Capital, Big Brain, and A.Capital. https://axios.link/3wpYHDm

• Slice, an employee equity management platform, raised $7m in seed funding. TLV Partners led, and was joined by R-Squared Ventures, Jibe Ventures, Wilson Sonsini, and Fenwick & West. www.globalslice.io

• Prowler, a Portland, Maine-based open cloud security startup, raised $6m in seed funding led by Decibel VC. https://axios.link/42SKXNK

• Validation Cloud, a Swiss web3 infrastructure startup, raised $5.8m. Cadenza Ventures led, and was joined by Blockchain Founders Fund, Bloccelerate, Blockwall, Side Door Ventures, Metamatic, GS Futures, and AP Capital also participated. www.validationcloud.io

• ProCredit, a Filipino lending firm, raised $4.1m in pre-seed funding led by Integra Partners. https://axios.link/4c5wHpd

🚑 Roga, maker of wearables for stress relief, raised $1m from Exceptional Ventures, Minded Ventures, and the Angelist Fund. www.rogalife.com

• Advent International invested in Skala, a Brazilian haircare brand that only uses vegan products. www.skala.com.br

• Blackstone completed its $2.3b take-private acquisition of Rover, a Seattle-based pet walking and sitting marketplace that went public via SPAC in 2021. https://axios.link/3uH64pm

• Black Mountain Software, a Polson, Mont.-based portfolio company of Peterson Partners, acquired Cascade Software Systems, a Eugene Ore.-based provider of cost and project accounting solutions. www.blackmountainsoftware.com

• CDH Investments in in advanced talks to buy a minority stake in Mobile World, a listed Vietnamese grocer that could be valued at upwards of $1.7b, per Reuters. https://axios.link/3wyFOyb

• Currys (LSE: CURY), a British electronics retailer, rejected a sweetened 757m takeover offer from Elliott Management. A rival offer still may come from JD.com. https://axios.link/49KdbwV

• CVC Capital Partners sweetened its buyout offer for Australian employment services firm APM (ASX: APM), valuing the business at A$1.83b. https://axios.link/3TeeKwZ

• Nordic Capital acquired ActiveViam, a New York-based provider of banking software that had been backed by Guidepost Growth Equity. www.activeviam.com

🚑 Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board and Nordic Capital invested in London-based drugmaker Advanz Pharma. www.advanzpharma.com

• Webull, a New York-based stock-trading app, agreed to go public at an implied $7.3b valuation via SK Growth Opportunities Corp. (Nasdaq: SKGR), a SPAC sponsored by South Korean conglomerate SK. Webull investors include Coatue, General Atlantic, Bojiang Capital, and Lightspeed. https://axios.link/3OYBJts

• Dailyhunt, an Indian content company that's raised over $800m in VC funding, is in talks to buy Indian social network Koo, which has raised around $60m from firms like Accel and Kalaari Capital, per TechCrunch. https://axios.link/3uHyakG

🚑 Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE: DNA) acquired three companies: Reverie Labs, a drug discovery platform backed by over $30m from firms like First Round Capital and Ridgeback Capital; Proof Diagnostics, a molecular diagnostics startup that raised over $50m from firms like F-Prime and Madrona; and Patch Biosciences, a synthetic biology firm that raised around $8m from firms like S32 and Casdin Capital. www.ginkobioworks.com

🚑 KKR is weighing the sale of its control stake in India's JB Pharma, which has around a $3b market cap, per Bloomberg. https://axios.link/3SSUL5L

• Vinci Highways of France agreed to buy Northwest Parkway, a Denver-based toll road project, from investors like Northleaf Capital Partners. https://axios.link/49UX6UJ

• Accenture (NYSE: ACN) agreed to acquire Mindcurv, a German digital consultancy, from Genui and Primepulse. www.mindcurvgroup.com

• Ageas, a listed Belgian insurer, offered to buy Direct Line Insurance (LSE: DLGD) for around £3.1b. https://axios.link/48ze21X

• Leon Black sold around $173m of stock in Apollo Global Management (NYSE: APO), the firm co-founded and led for decades before being ousted three years ago. According to Bloomberg, it's his first-ever sale of Apollo shares. https://axios.link/3TeQzhT

🏈 Josh Harris and David Blitzer are in talks to sell their <5% stake in the Pittsburgh Steelers to an existing ownership group that includes Art Rooney and Thomas Tull, per Bloomberg. The exit is tied to NFL ownership rules that kicked in when Harris bought the Washington Commanders last year. https://axios.link/3UTZSVS

• Mitsubishi (Tokyo: 8058) is planning to sell its 35% stake in KFC Holdings Japan (Tokyo: 9873), which operates Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants in Japan, per Nikkei. https://axios.link/3uPcKC5

• Swisscom (Swiss: SCMN) reportedly is in advanced talks to buy Vodafone's (LSE: VOD) Italian unit for €8b. https://axios.link/3uWLy4f

• U.S. News & World Report acquired travel website TheCultureTrip.com. https://axios.link/49uwqdD

• Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) has agreed to merge its India business with Reliance Industries-backed Viacom18, via joint venture valued at $8.5b. https://axios.link/42Y5bpk

• Warner Bros Discovery (Nasdaq: WBD) ended merger talks with Paramount Global (Nasdaq: PARA), per CNBC. https://axios.link/3IhHZsK

🌯 Chipotle (NYSE: CMG) doubled the size of its corporate VC fund to $100m. https://axios.link/3In4Enb

• BFG Partners, a VC firm focused on early-stage consumer product startups, raised $125m for its third fund. www.bfgpartners.com

• The Financial Times has launched a new VC arm to invest in media and tech companies, the first of which is future-of-work media startup Charter. https://axios.link/48rfV0w

🌎 Jeff Currie joined Carlyle as chief strategy officer for its energy transition practice. He's the former global head of commodities research at Goldman Sachs. https://axios.link/3wxeNLy

🌎 Stephen Trauber joined Moelis as chair and global head of energy and clean tech. He previously was Citi's vice chair and global co-head of natural resources and clean energy transition. www.moelis.com

• Harris Williams promoted Ryan Budlong and Brent Spiller to co-heads of its consumer group. It also named seven new managing directors: Jen Bayat, Tyler Bradshaw, Nick Owens, Andreas Poth, Brian Titterington, Bryce Walker, and Greg Waller. www.harriswillliams.com

• Playground Global promoted Ben Kim to partner. https://axios.link/48xgOVw

Macy's yesterday announced plans to close 150 more stores, while expanding its high-end retail footprint, as it continues to battle with activist investors who want to buy the company.

• "The store closures will leave the company with about 350 full-size Macy's department stores, which is fewer than half what it had a decade ago," Axios' Nathan Bomey and Kelly Tyko note.