Today's column didn't quite come together in time, so let's empty out the notebook...

👎 No exit: A bunch of private equity LPs are still grumbling about New Mountain Capital's decision to bail on a sale of five health-care services companies to former partner Matt Holt — a move that denied them around $10 billion in distributions.

• There's still a lot of he said/he said about what really happened, and questions about if NMC plans to attempt to employ a similar playbook (which looks a bit like a continuation vehicle, but with much more integration).
• The basics, however, seem to be that the deal terms changed in the final weeks — with the overall value rising to $32 billion from $30 billion, Holt using more debt than anticipated (plus deferred payments) and NMC wanting to at least double its rollover equity.
• Feelings on both sides appear frayed.

👍 Yes exit: EQT last night sold its remaining 14.3% stake in Swiss skincare company Galderma (Swiss: GALD) for $6.2 billion.

• The firm claims it's the largest ever PE-backed block trade, topping a $3.5 billion secondary sale just one day earlier by Medline backers Blackstone, Carlyle, Hellman & Friedman and ADIA.
• Worth noting that all of these giant exits — including the one NMC scrapped — involved health-care companies.

🧠 Reality check on the AI bubble from Ray Dalio, appearing on the All-In podcast:

"What a lot of people don't realize in bubbles is that ... they think they're betting on the technology when they buy the stocks in the companies. That's not true. There's a giant difference between the behavior of the companies and the behavior of the technologies. The norm is that a lot of the companies won't survive ... but the technologies will go on."

⚖️ One to watch: Gracenote, a unit of media measurement firm Nielsen, has sued OpenAI for copyright infringement, Axios' Sara Fischer reports.

• Unlike other media vs. model lawsuits that focus on text, this one accuses OpenAI of copying the relational framework Gracenote uses to connect its metadata.
• If successful, this could open up a wave of lawsuits by enterprise data providers against OpenAI and its ilk.

🇨🇦 Northern exposure: Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan just booked its first annual loss on private equity in over a decade, and plans to narrow its PE focus on tech, services, and financial services.

• Its private equity portfolio was down 5.3% last year, representing nearly a C$10 billion loss, compared to an 18% gain in 2024.
• Overall, the system was up 6.7% with AUM climbing to C$280 billion.

Round 2, a collectibles and hobby products company owned by Praesidian Capital, acquired 126-year-old model railroad brand Lionel.

Why it's the BFD: I'm a sucker for nostalgia, and am pretty sure that Lionel was the most important brand to my dad when he was a kid.

Catch up quick: This won't be Lionel's first time under private equity ownership. Wellspring Associates, since renamed but then affiliated with musician Neil Young, bought it out of bankruptcy in 1995 and eventually moved manufacturing outside of the U.S.

• Lionel went bankrupt again in 2004, after losing a trade secret lawsuit brought by a rival, with Guggenheim Partners helping on the eventual reorg.

What they're saying: "Lionel were less expensive than American Flyer and had more variety of equipment. I think I was 7 or 8 when my dad bought the first set of trains, and he had as much fun with them as I did." — Bill Primack

• Nexthop AI, a Santa Clara, Calif.-based AI networking startup, raised $500m in Series B funding at a $4.2b post-money valuation. Lightspeed led, joined by a16z, Altimeter and insiders Battery Ventures, Emergent Ventures, WestBridge Capital, and Kleiner Perkins. axios.link/4rp1C6g

• Rhoda AI, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based robot training startup, raised $450m at a $1.7b valuation. Premji Invest led, joined by Capricorn Investment Group, Khosla Ventures, Leitmotif, Matter Venture Partners, Mayfield, Premji Invest, Prelude Ventures, Temasek, and Xora, and John Doerr. axios.link/4bgtx1X

• Eridu, a Saratoga, Calif.-based AI networking startup, came out of stealth with over $200m from Socratic Partners, John Doerr, Hudson River Trading, Capricorn Investment Group, and Matter Venture Partners. axios.link/4s2Wfuq

• Kai, a San Jose, Calif.-based agentic AI cybersecurity platform, raised $125m. Evolution Equity Partners led, joined by N47. axios.link/4deVZUD

🚑 Alan, a French health insurer, raised €100m at a €5b valuation led by insider Index Ventures. New investors included Greenoaks, Kaaf, and SH. axios.link/4byn049

• Chowbus, a Chicago-based operating system for Asian restaurants, raised $81m in Series E funding, per Axios Pro. Prysm Capital and Left Lane Capital led, joined by Dutchess, Fika and Avid Bank. axios.link/4lq87V5

🚑 Vitestro, a Dutch robotic blood draw company, raised $70m in Series B funding from Labcorp Venture Fund, Mayo Clinic, and Sutter Health, InterVest, MGFO, PGGM, Puma VC, and ROM Utrecht. axios.link/4sDc4rN

• Jazz, an Israeli data loss prevention startup, raised $61m from Glilot Capital Partners and Team8. axios.link/47Fi37d

🚑 Nitra, an AI company focused on health care financial and operational workflows, raised $50m in Series B funding from Actions Capital, AppWorks, Comma Capital, Dunamu & Partners, Era Funds, NEA, Pantera Capital, and Sazze Partners. axios.link/4bjp1jg

🚑 Translucent, an NYC-based healthcare finance startup, raised $27m in Series A funding. GV led, joined by NEA, FPV Ventures, and Virtue. axios.link/40l5ZUR

• Sandbar, an NYC-based note-taking wearable developer, raised $23m in Series A funding led by Adjacent and Kindred Ventures. axios.link/4sdiU7t

• Scanner, a security data platform, raised $22m in Series A funding led by Sequoia Capital. axios.link/4lpbdsg

• Standard Kernel, a Mountain View, Calif.-based kernel creation and optimization startup, raised $20m in seed funding. Jump Capital led, joined by General Catalyst, Felicis, Cowboy Ventures, Link Ventures, and Essence VC. axios.link/413I6RL

• Rebar, an NYC-based operating system for HVAC and plumbing industries, raised $14m in Series A funding. Prudence led, joined by Zero Infinity Partners, Founder Collective, Villain Capital, and Optimist Ventures. axios.link/4aZYA3m

• Unreasonable Labs, a Cambridge, Mass.-based superintelligence startup focused on knowledge discovery, raised $13.5m. Playground Global led, joined by AIX Ventures, E14 Fund, and MS&AD Ventures. axios.link/4b3TDXo

• Depot, a build acceleration and CI platform for software development, raised $10m in Series A funding from Felicis, YC, and Pioneer Fund. axios.link/4cGL4mr

🚀 Lux Aeterna, a Denver-based developer of reusable satellites, raised $10m in seed funding. Konvoy led, joined by Decisive Point, Cubit Capital and Wave Function. axios.link/4rpqV82

⚡️ Hyperscale Power, a Swiss solid state transformer startup, raised €5m in seed funding led by World Fund and Vsquared Ventures per TechCrunch. axios.link/4um5RlJ

• Kled, an SF-based consumer data marketplace, raised $5.5m in seed funding from Aglaé, K5 Global, Diplo, Parable VC, and Exponential. axios.link/4bB4ckL

• Sybilion, a Norwegian startup focused on industrial decision-making in volatile markets, raised $4.2m in seed funding led by Venturefriends and Semapa Next. sybilion.com

• Rasa Legal, a Salt Lake City-based criminal record clearance startup, raised $5m in seed funding. Rethink Education led, joined by Social Finance, Halogen Ventures, and the Richard King Mellon Foundation. axios.link/412HbRz

• Finperks, a German developer of API infrastructure for prepaid cards, raised $4m in pre-seed funding led by Motive Partners and seed+speed Ventures. axios.link/47Fq6AW

• Talvy, a Cambridge, Mass.-based video-first professional networking platform, raised $2m in seed funding led by Link Ventures. axios.link/3N8txcz

⚡ Factorial, a Billerica, Mass.-based solid-state battery developer, raised funding from IQT, Philenergy, and POSCO Future M. axios.link/4lmlci1

• Quantro Security, an NYC-based developer of cyber defense agents, raised pre-seed funding from Gradient. axios.link/4lxiDK3

• ACA Group, backed by Genstar Capital, acquired FX Transparency, a provider of foreign exchange transaction cost analysis and execution analytics. axios.link/4uFcWOz

• Blackstone and Blue Owl are acquiring minority stakes in Atlas Holdings, a Greenwich, Conn.-based private equity firm focused on manufacturing and distribution. axios.link/4usd8R8

• Brookfield Asset Management is in talks to buy air cargo firm World Freight from EQT and PAI Partners for up to $1.3b, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4sDf73d

🚑 BV Investment Partners made a majority investment in Moxe Health, a Madison, Wis.-based clinical data exchange platform. axios.link/3P1Np1B

🚑 Chicago Pacific Founders invested in Nexben, a Minneapolis-based health benefits company. axios.link/4s57XoD

🚑 Dynamic Access, backed by RiverGlade Capital, acquired PICC Stat, a Minneapolis-based vascular access provider. axios.link/4llCr35

• Hydraulic Technologies, a Wynnchurch portfolio company, acquired Foxtrot Industriel, a Quebec-based maker of motorized industrial equipment. axios.link/4ljnluM

• L Catterton merged Bel Cosméticos and Mundo do Cabeleireiro, creating a Brazilian beauty retail platform. NEIII Fund exited. axios.link/3MVjI1B

• Mountaingate Capital invested in Harvest Group, a commerce agency for consumer brands. axios.link/4bmgpIU

• Ramarketing, a Boston-based life sciences marketing agency backed by NorthEdge, is acquiring ISR Market Research, a Cary, N.C.-based specialist research firm.axios.link/4s4NQa0

• Ranger Fire & Security, a London-based portfolio company of Hyperion Equity Partners, acquired MarkOne Safety, a U.K. provider of fire safety and emergency lighting systems. axios.link/3P0CXaC

⚡️RESA Power, a portfolio company of Kohlberg, acquired JA Tech, a Canadian field and engineering services provider for electrical power systems. axios.link/4bjAO12

• Zendesk, owned by Permira and Hellman & Friedman, acquired Forethought, an SF-based customer service automation startup that had raised $126m from firms like K9 Ventures, NEA, Blue Cloud Ventures, and Steadfast Capital. axios.link/4bzERro

🚀 MDA Space, a Toronto-listed provider of satellite systems and space robotics, filed for a $300m float and listing on the NYSE (MDA). axios.link/4cAAGg2

• SumUp Payments, a London-based POS terminal company, is seeking bankers for a European IPO that could value the company at $10b, per Bloomberg. axios.link/46SIu9i

• Databricks, valued by VCs at $134b, acquired Quotient AI, a Boston-based agent evaluation startup whose backers included Step Function. quotientai.co

⚡️ Electreon (TASE: ELWS), an Israeli provider of wireless EV charging, acquired InductEV, a King of Prussia, Pa.-based wireless charging developer. InductEV had raised $97m from backers like OshKosh, RCH Energy, and Realm Capital Ventures axios.link/4lsauqq

🚑 InTandem is prepping Pediatric Home Service for sale, per Axios Pro. axios.link/3NxJedk

• Lakeview Capital completed its sale of U.S. ice cream brand My/Mochi to Morinaga & Co. (Tokyo: 2201). axios.link/4s5ebF1

🚀 Anduril, which is raising money at a $60b valuation, acquired ExoAnalytic Solutions, a Foothill Ranch, Calif.-based space surveilance startup. axios.link/4rlCEV9

• Cintas (Nasdaq: CTAS) agreed to acquire UniFirst (NYSE: UNF), a Wilmington, Mass.-based maker of workplace uniforms, for around $5.5b in cash, or $310 per share. axios.link/3Nss154

• Janus Henderson Group (NYSE: JHG) said that an $8.5b takeover offer from Victory Capital (Nasdaq: VCTR) isn't suprior to a $7.4b bid from Trian Fund Management and General Catalyst. axios.link/46SQeYO

• Starboard Value has built around a $350m stake in CarMax (NYSE: KMX) and nominated two directors to its board. axios.link/40pUATC

• BNP Paribas Asset Management Alts raised €540m for its first GP stakes fund. axios.link/4rIrb2p

• Coefficient Capital raised over $500m for its second consumer growth fund. coefficientcap.com

🌎 Emerald Technology Ventures, a Swiss VC firm, raised €100m for its second water-tech fund from Temasek, Grundfos Foundation, Veralto, Ecolab, SKion Water, and Oxy Technology Ventures. axios.link/4b2I4j9

• Entrepreneurs First raised $200m from backers like Greylock, Reid Hoffman, Eric Schmidt, Claire Hughes Johnson, Charlie Songhurst, Sara Clemens, Danny Rimer, and Matt Cohler. joinef.com

• General Catalyst is in early talks to raise $10b for new funds, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4lnXIsV

• Scout Ventures, a defense-tech firm, raised $125m for its fifth fund. axios.link/3N8vIgf

• Bank of America hired Gary Kirkham (Centerview Partners) as exec vice chair, Jason Rowe (Goldman Sachs) as global co-head of tech investment banking, and Mahir Zaimoglu (JPM) as head of TMT M&A, and Patrik Czornik (JPM) as co-head of EMEA TMT investment banking. axios.link/4sDdVwL

• Madeleine Goldberg joined Lerer Hippeau's investment team. She was previously at Insight Partners. axios.link/4lmknpr

• Simona Maellare joined Blackstone as head of Europe private wealth. He previously was co-head of alternative capital at UBS. axios.link/4syvQV7

Inflation remained steady in February, with the Consumer Price Index coming in at 2.4% year-over-year. Core CPI, which strips out food and energy, remained at 2.5%.

• Month-over-month CPI was 0.3% while month-over-month core CPI was 0.2%.

Yes, but: This data was collected before the Iran war, which has sent energy prices prices soaring.

• The average gallon of gas is now at $3.58, up 22% from just one month ago, per AAA.