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Scoop: Fragrance brand Phlur hires Raymond James

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Exclusive: Defense tech startup Onebrief hits $1.1B valuation

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Driving the day

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🚨 Deals deals deals!

The final word

Fragrance brand Phlur has hired Raymond James to explore a sale, three sources tell Axios Pro.

Why it matters: There's a stacked roster of beauty and personal care brands sitting on the sidelines.

State of play: Rare Beauty, Makeup By Mario, and Dr. Squatch all reportedly looked for buyers last year but were unable to get deals done.

Yes, but: The beauty market isn't totally asleep.

e.l.f. last month agreed to buy Hailey Bieber's Rhode brand for up to $1 billion.

L'Oreal in June said it plans to buy skin care company Medik8 for a reported €1 billion.

General Atlantic in February agreed to buy Kayali alongside the fragrance brand's co-founder for an undisclosed amount.

Zoom in: Austin, Texas-based Phlur, which includes viral scents like Missing Person, claims to have pioneered "sustainability and transparency" in fragrance ingredients.

Startup incubator The Center bought Phlur in 2021 for an undisclosed amount, after it had raised around $20 million from VCs, and brought fashion influencer Chriselle Lim into the company.

Representatives at Phlur, The Center, and Raymond James declined to comment.

1. Scoop: Fragrance brand Phlur hires Raymond James

Onebrief, a maker of military workflow software, raised $20 million in new funding led by Battery Ventures at a $1.1 billion valuation, CEO Grant Demaree tells Axios Pro exclusively.

Why it matters: The valuation almost doubles the company's $650 million valuation in a February deal led by General Catalyst.

How it works: Onebrief's collaborative workflow platform helps military staff from different organizations stay up to date in real-time planning, while its AI features help with decision making.

There also could be an opportunity to sell the platform to other parts of the federal government, such as FEMA and Homeland Security, says Michael Brown, general partner at Battery Ventures.

Catch up quick: Defense tech funding has been on a roll, as best illustrated by Anduril's $2.5 billion raise led by Founders Fund at a $30.5 billion valuation earlier this month.

What they're saying: "I think there's an understanding right now that we have to be on our front foot when it comes to defense," Brown says, speaking on current investor interest in defense tech. 

Look ahead: Demaree said it would be possible for the Honolulu-based company to raise again before the end of the year.

"We're having a really good year. We would be in a good place to do it."

2. Exclusive: Defense tech startup Onebrief hits $1.1B valuation

⚡️ KKR's off-grid energy bet on Zenith (Katie Fehrenbacher)

Energy demand for AI data centers has shifted private equity's equation.

🙌 Supernus wins Sage Therapeutics (Katherine Davis)

Supernus beat out Biogen for the deal, despite a longstanding relationship between Biogen and Sage.

🌪️ Exclusive: $25M for disaster data recovery (Chris Metinko)

Slide's raise comes as ransomware and malware threats intensify.

3. Driving the day

👉 GO HERE TO CATCH UP on the deals that broke since this morning's Pro Rata, including:

Juniper Square, an SF-based provider of connected fund software for private markets, raised $130m in Series D round funding at a $1.1b valuation. Ribbit Capital led, joined by Fifth Wall, Redpoint Ventures, HighSage Ventures, and Blue Owl Capital. Go deeper

Nimbus Health, an Atlanta-based virtual pulmonary care provider, raised $12m in a round led by 2048 Ventures with participation from 8VC and K50. Go deeper

Tron, the crypto company from Justin Sun, will go public via reverse merger with SRM Entertainment, a Florida-based toymaker. The SEC postponed its case against Sun earlier this year. Go deeper

4. 🚨 Deals deals deals!

"I think there's growing frustration. I think the June 19 date will be an inflection point on that."

— Rep. Darin LaHood (R.-Ill.), to Axios' Maria Curi on President Trump's TikTok ban extensions

Trump is likely to delay the ban for a third time on Thursday, and legislators are looking for ways to push back over national security concerns.

5. The final word

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June 16, 2025

1. Scoop: Fragrance brand Phlur hires Raymond James