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Scoop: Trimble eyes transportation breakup 

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Pharma marketing checkup

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Island charts an IPO

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Driving the day

Final word

Data analytics company Trimble is considering breaking up its transportation and logistics portfolio as Goldman Sachs shops the division, Axios Pro has learned.

Why it matters: The division's Transporeon business is considered the crown jewel in a hot transportation management system (TMS) deal market.

"My assumption is they will be looking for at least $2 billion" for Transporeon, a source says. Trimble paid $2.1 billion in cash for it in 2023.

Context: Trimble's T&L division, which booked $549 million in revenue in fiscal 2025, contains four distinct businesses: Transporeon, Enterprise, Maps and Vusion.

It wasn't clear at the outset how Trimble would market the unit, but some prospective buyers were already weighing plans to sell off parts, the source says. 

Catch up quick: Bain Capital and Apax Partners were kicking tires on the asset before bowing out. 

Flashback: A breakup would be a continuation of the division's unwinding, following Trimble's sales of its transportation telematics business to Platform Science in 2024 and TMS provider Kuebix to FreightWise in 2023.

What we're watching: Selling the businesses separately could also widen the field to a long list of strategics that compete with Maps and Vusion. 

The bottom line: It's been tough to find a buyer interested in the whole enchilada.

a hot transportation management system (TMS) deal market

1. Scoop: Trimble eyes transportation breakup

AI risk is raising the bar for outsourced pharma marketing deals.

Why it matters: This year has seen a cluster of sponsor-backed pharma marketing, communications and consulting companies come to market, but results have varied.

Context: AI presents an immediate threat to pharma agencies: McKinsey says it could cut content costs 30% to 50% and bring more work in-house.

That's on top of existing concerns about how well such businesses are integrated.

State of play: Ares Management took first-round bids for The Lockwood Group earlier this month, Axios Pro has learned.

Houlihan is running the auction, marketed off about $85 million in EBITDA. That's up a bit from the $70 million figure from our story in March, likely encompassing a recent bolt-on.

Friction point: Two down-market auctions were put on ice in recent months, amid valuation discord and tepid buyer interest.

Northlane Capital Partners-backed SAI MedPartners (with just under $20 million of EBITDA) and Trinity Hunt-backed Supreme Group (nearly $40 million of EBITDA) have both paused their processes.

Between the lines: Research-focused businesses like SAI MedPartners are "very prone to AI replacement risk," a source told Axios Pro.

"There's more integration work to do [with Supreme]," the source says. "Even the companies they bought are all these tiny little founder-owned PR creative agencies."

Supreme also has a wide variety of clients across pharma, med tech and health care services, the source adds. "It's a bit of a confusing story."

Reality check: The market isn't entirely locked up.

Linden Capital paid 15x to 16x EBITDA to acquire Relevate Health from Mountaingate Capital, Axios Pro reported last month.

That followed Martis Capital's acquisition of Deerfield Group from Edgewater Partners for up to $280 million in June.

What we're watching: Linden Capital hired Jefferies to shop oncology-focused consultancy Aptitude Health, which recently held gold card meetings.

The process could help gauge how much specialization matters. 

The bottom line: "You better feel pretty damn good about it when you're buying," the source says. 

Ares declined to comment. Houlihan, Northlane, Trinity Hunt and Linden didn't respond to a request for comment. 

2. Pharma marketing checkup

Enterprise cybersecurity startup Island expects to have enough revenue next year to begin pursuing an IPO, CEO Mike Fey tells Axios Pro.

Why it matters: Cybersecurity IPOs have been relatively rare, aside from Netskope and SailPoint.

Follow the money: Dallas-based Island this week raised a $400 million Series F round at $6.4 billion post-money led by Evolution Equity Partners.

The company has hit the $200 million ARR mark with 100% annual growth, Fey says.

It's now raised about $1 billion, with $700 million still in the bank.

What they're saying: "We will have the revenue. We'll have the core fundamentals. Those things will be in place in the next 12 months. What we do after that is going to be about wise timing... There's no reason to rush it out there," Fey says.

Flashback: Island launched as an enterprise browser security developer less than five years ago, but has expanded into identity, AI and network security.

State of play: It's been rough out there for enterprise software stocks.

Cybersecurity has gotten less bruised, but Netskope is still trading 7% below its IPO price, while SailPoint is down 10.3%. 

What's next: "We will get a little more aggressive on M&A. We actually have a couple targets that we're considering," Fey says. 

"We didn't specifically raise with that in mind, but it is part of what we think a strong company like ourselves should consider."

3. Island charts an IPO

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Stock: Getty Images

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4. Driving the day

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"Tokenized deposits are going to eat stablecoins' lunch."

— Custodia Bank CEO Caitlin Long, speaking at the Philly Fed's 10th Annual Fintech Conference

Banks and stablecoin companies largely agree that money is moving on-chain, but disagree over what form it will take. 

AI agents could make tokenization infrastructure more disruptive by automatically moving money among deposits, securities and higher-yielding products.

September 25, 2026

1. Scoop: Trimble eyes transportation breakup