Digital pharmacy, one of health tech's hottest sectors, is bulking up by slimming down.

Driving the news: WeightWatchers yesterday agreed to buy the parent company of Sequence, a subscription telehealth platform that offers weight management programs and medication prescriptions, including for increasingly popular GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy.

• The deal value was $132 million in cash and stock, with sellers includeing venture firm DCM.
• "We're a science-based company, and the science on clinical pathways has been advancing," WeightWatchers CEO Sima Sistani tells Axios. "As we began reviewing this space, the question was if we should do a build or buy solution. When we met Sequence, we really thought they had this figured out, including the pre-authorization funnel."

By the numbers: Around 42% of Americans were categorized as obese as of 2020, according to the CDC, up from 30.5 % in 1999. The prevalence of severe obesity rose from 4.7% to 9.2%.

• The CDC adds: "The estimated annual medical cost of obesity in the U.S. was nearly $173 billion in 2019 dollars. Medical costs for adults who had obesity were $1,861 higher than medical costs for people with healthy weight."
• "These are the same people who've been going to their GPs for years and being told 'just lose the weight,' which has led to stigma and shame," Sistani argues.

The big picture: GLP-1 drugs, which impact blood sugar control, could be gamechangers for weight management and a massive boon digital pharmacies.

• Think about how much digital pharmacies make off ED drugs. Now double the population to include women, and incorporate a medical condition that's much more prevalent and consequential.
• That's why a company like Ro (fka Roman), valued by VCs at more than $6 billion, recently launched its own weight loss effort around GLP-1 meds that includes its own blood testing lab. CEO Zach Reitano notes that over half of the company's new customers are now women, although some of that also comes from unrelated offerings around sexual health and fertility.

Caveats: GLP-1 drugs aren't universally accepted by insurers, and there are concerns about misuse by those just seeking to shed a few pounds.

The bottom line: Expect to see more mergers and strategic deals that combine telehealth with chronic weight management.

Paramount Global (Nasdaq: PARA) is in early stalks to sell its majority stake in BET Group, with Byron Allen and Tyler Perry among the interested suitors.

Why it's the BFD: Shari Redstone's media giant might finally be a seller, nearly four years after reuniting Viacom and CBS, despite recently refusing a $3 billion offer for cable network Showtime.

Details: BET's portfolio includes BET, BET+, BET Studios and VH1.

Sourcing: The Wall Street Journal broke the news, which was confirmed by Axios.

The bottom line: Paramount wants cash that it can push into programming for its unprofitable streaming services, Paramount+ and PlutoTV.

• SOCI, a San Diego-based marketing platform for multi-location brands, raised $120m. JMI Equity led, and was joined by Vertical Venture Partners, Blossom Street Ventures and Renew Group. www.meetsoci.com

🚑 Noema Pharma, a Swiss developer of drugs for severe CNS disorders, raised around $112m in Series B funding. Forbion led, and was joined by Jeito Capital, UPMC Enterprises and insiders Sofinnova Partners, Polaris Partners, Gilde Healthcare and Invus. www.noemapharma.com

🚑 Rapport Therapeutics, a San Diego-based developer of precision medicines for neurological disorders, raised $100m in Series A funding from Third Rock Ventures, ARCH Venture Partners and Johnson & Johnson Innovation. www.rapportrx.com

• Macro, an entertainment production and agency firm focused on underrepresented talent, raised over $90m. BlackRock led, and was joined by Harbourview Equity Partners and Goldman Sachs Asset Management. https://axios.link/3yhgxq0

• Chaos Industries, an LA-based defense-tech startup, raised $70m in Series A funding. 8VC led, and was joined by Alpha Wave Global, Lerner Enterprises, Liquid 2 Ventures, and Tamarack Global. https://axios.link/3IZwFRM

• Believer Entertainment, new gaming studio led by former Riot Games executives, raised $55m in Series A funding. Lightspeed Venture Partners led, and was joined by Andreessen Horowitz, Bitkraft Ventures, Riot Games, 1Up Ventures, Don Thompson’s Cleveland Avenue and Michael Eisner’s Tornante Co. https://axios.link/3kWEGyX

🚑 Ampersand Biomedicines, a Cambridge, Mass.-based developer of programmable medicines, raised $50m from founding investor Flagship Pioneering. www.ampersand.bio

• Homz, a Frisco, Texas-based developer of "wellness-centric" multifamily rental housing, raised $50m in pre-seed funding led by Nanban Ventures. https://axios.link/3YjND32

• Plus One Robotics, a San Antonio, Texas-based maker of vision systems for logistics robots, raised $50m in Series C funding. Scale Venture Partners led, and was joined by Top Tier Capital Partners, Tyche Partners and ROBO Global Ventures. https://axios.link/3ZsjRu6

• Assured Allies, a Wellesley, Mass.-based longevity assurance platform, raised $42.5m in Series B funding co-led by FinTLV Ventures and insider Harel Insurance. https://axios.link/3mvd0Sa

• Overhaul, an Austin, Texas-based physical supply chain management platform, raised $38m in Series A funding. Edison Partners led, and was joined by eGateway Capital, StepStone Group and TRM Ventures. It also secured $35m in debt from Stifel. https://axios.link/3L3U6fA

• SpotDraft, an Indian contract lifecycle management startup, raised $26m in Series A funding. Premji Invest led, and was joined by Prosus Ventures, 021 Capital, Arkam Ventures, Riverwalk Fund and 100x Entrepreneur Fund. https://axios.link/3ILcU0k

• Banyan Infrastructure, an SF-based provider of sustainable financing software, raised $25m in Series B funding. Energize Ventures led, and was joined by SE Ventures, Elemental Excelerator and insiders VoLo Earth and Ulu Ventures. https://axios.link/3Zt9oi7

• Candidly, a New York-based student debt and savings optimization platform, raised $20.5m in Series B funding. Altos Ventures led, and was joined by Cercano Management. https://axios.link/3F40aAZ

• UniUni, a Canadian last-mile delivery provider whose clients include Shein, raised C$20m in the first tranche of its Series B round from Celtic House Venture Partners, BRV Aster, Freshwave Capital, Hat Trick Ventures and Vision Plus Capital. https://axios.link/3F6rkab

⚡ Geothermal Engineering, a British developer and operator of geothermal plants, raised £15m from Kerogen Capital and Thrive Renewables. www.geothermalengineering.co.uk

• Roami (fka Sextant Stays), a Miami, Fla.-based hospitality startup, raised $14m in Series A funding led by Vigo Capital. https://axios.link/3F3YNlP

⚡ XGS Energy, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based geothermal energy startup, raised $14m in Series A funding led by Anzu Partners. www.xgsenergy.com

• Speedscale, an Atlanta-based Kubernetes traffic replay company, raised $9m in pre-seed and seed funding. Grotech Ventures led, and was joined by Sierra Ventures, Tech Square Ventures, Correlation Ventures, CreativeCo and TIE Atlanta. www.speedscale.com

• Unitary, a London-based contextual AI startup focused on content moderation, raised $8m. Plural led, and was joined by individuals like Carolyn Everson. www.unitary.ai

• Growfin, a finance CRM for B2B companies, raised $7.5m in Series A funding. SWC Global led, and was joined by insider 3one4 Capital. www.growfin.ai

• Evove, a British maker of 3D-printed membranes for water processing, raised £5.7m in Series A funding led by At One Ventures, as first reported by Axios Pro. https://axios.link/3SUr83B

• Edgeless Systems, a German developer of open source software for confidential computing, raised $5.3m in seed funding led by SquareOne. www.edgeless.systems

• Inigo, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based provider of GraphQL API security and governance solutions, raised $4.5m in seed funding from Engineering Capital, Hetz Ventures and NextGen Venture Partners. www.inigo.io

🌎 RenewWest, a Denver-based reforestation finance startup, raised $3.2m co-led by Aspiration and One Small Planet, per Axios Pro. https://axios.link/3ZJZOaj

• Highway Benefits, an employee benefits startup, raised $3.1m in seed funding led by XYZ Venture Capital. www.highwaybenefits.com

🚑 Prana Thoracic, a Houston-based developer of lung-sparing devices, raised $3m in Series A funding. New World Angels led, and was joined by Johnson & Johnson Innovation, Texas Medical Center Venture Fund and the University City Science Center. https://axios.link/3EWV3lO

🚑 Your Path, a St. Paul, Minn.-based provider of solutions for those with substance abuse, raised $2.1m. Bread and Butter Ventures led, and was joined by Leadout Capital, Groove Capital and Big Stone Capital Group. www.yourpath.com

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⚡ Apollo Global Management has made its fourth takeover offer for British energy services firm Wood Group (LSE: WG). Wood Group says it’s likely to reject the sweetened bid, which values the company at around $1.98b. https://axios.link/3F2ht5a

• Authentic Brands Group is in talks to buy Boardriders, an Oaktree Capital Partners-owned apparel maker whose brands include Billabong and Quiksilver, per Bloomberg. ABG backers include BlackRock, Lion Capital, General Atlantic and CVC Capital Partners. https://axios.link/3Jhc1Ox

• BPEA EQT plans to merge two Hong Kong-based portfolio companies focused on the business services space, per Bloomberg. The combination of Tricor and Vistra reportedly would be valued at around $6.5b, including debt. https://axios.link/3L2KWQd

• Insight Equity and Blue Sage Capital acquired Clearly Clean Products, a Orwigsburg, Pa.-based maker of sustainable food packaging trays. www.clearlyclean.com

• Kelso & Co. invested in Pathstone, an Englewood, N.J.-based multi-family office backed by Lovell Minnick Partners. www.pathstone.com

• L Catterton acquired A.P.C., the Paris-based fashion brand founded by Jean Touitou, per WWD. https://axios.link/3kVuBCf

• Luminate Capital Partners acquired a majority stake in Ease, a San Clemente, Calif.-based provider of manufacturing plant floor audit software. www.ease.io

• Permira is exploring a takeover offer for Gruppo Florence, an Italian production platform for luxury clothing brands, per Reuters. https://axios.link/41UOla6

• Security 101, a West Palm Beach, Fla.-based portfolio company of Gemspring Capital, acquired Security Solutions Northwest, a Bellingham, Wash.-based provider of commercial security systems design and installation services. www.security101.com

🐟 Sole Source Capital acquired Lee Fish, an El Segundo, Calif.-based distributor of fresh and frozen seafood. www.leefishusa.com

• TPG offered to buy Australian funeral home operator InvoCare (ASX: IVC) for around A$1.82b. https://axios.link/3yiMjms

• ZKH Group, a Chinese B2B procurement platform for industrials, filed for a $200m IPO. It plans to list on the NYSE (ZKH) and reports $1.2b in 2022 revenue. Backers include Tencent and Genesis Capital. https://axios.link/3EYBFEX

• AIRO, a Tipp City, Ohio-based aerospace and defense company, agreed to go public at an implied $847m equity value via Kernel Group Holdings (Nasdaq: KRNLU), a SPAC led by former Supervalu CEO Mark Gross. https://axios.link/3kKK9cg

• E.C.D. Auto Design, a Kissimmee, Fla.-based provider of restored and customized Land Rovers, agreed to go public at an implied $222 valuation via EF Hutton Acquisition Corp. I (Nasdaq: EFHT). https://axios.link/3ZMVck0

🚑 Transcarent, an SF-based "health experience" company valued by VCs at more than $1.8b, acquired 98point6, a text-based virtual primary care company that had raised over $200m from firms like L Catterton, Activant Capital, Goldman Sachs, Optus Capital Partners, MUUS Asset Management, Westway Capital, Summer VC and Ace & Co. https://axios.link/3Ysiuu4

• Arko (Nasdaq: ARKO), one of the largest U.S. convenience store operators, acquired Greenville, S.C.-based Transit Energy Group for $370m. https://axios.link/3JgGnR3

• Coinbase (Nasdaq: COIN) acquired crypto asset manager One River Digital Asset Management. https://axios.link/3ITnlPf

• Criteo (Nasdaq: CRTO) acquired Australian brand marketing firm Brandcrush. https://axios.link/41UPpuC

• Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers' (NYSE: RBA) $7.3b takeover agreement with vehicle auction site IAA (NYSE: IAA) got the thumbs down from shareholder proxy firms Glass Lewis and ISS. As a countermove, Ritche said it would offer a special dividend of $1.08 per share to investors who support the deal.

🚑 VillageMD, a Chicago-based primary care clinic operator backed by Walgreens, acquired Starling Physicians, a Rocky Hill, Conn.-based primary care and multispecialty group. www.villagemd.com

⚡ Vistra (NYSE: VST) agreed to buy U.S. nuclear power firm Energy Harbor for $3.43b in cash and stock, including assumed debt. https://axios.link/3mv7NtM

• Upload Ventures of Brazil is raising $250m for a growth equity fund, per an SEC filing.

• HarbourVest Partners promoted nine professionals to managing directors: Emily Archer, Matthew Dowgert, Dominic Goh, Blake Holman, Joel Hwang, Ryan Jones, Warwick Mancini, David Morris and David Rule. www.harbourvest.com

• Harris Williams promoted Brian Lucas to co-head of the investment bank’s business services group, and promoted six professionals to managing directors: Zach England, Graham Gillam, Jenne Griffin, Taylor Morris, Trey Packard and Ashley Van der Waag. www.harriswilliams.com

The U.S. Justice Department reportedly will sue to block JetBlue's $3.8 billion, all-cash takeover of budget carrier Spirit Airways, perhaps as early as today.

• This shouldn't be too much of a shock, given skyrocketing air travel costs and the fact that JetBlue already is the subject of a DOJ suit seeking to stop its alliance with American Airlines.
• The companies had offered certain concessions to gain antitrust approval, including the divestiture of Spirit operations at airports in Newark and Boston.
• Investors have been expecting the merger to falter, as JetBlue's $33.50 per share bid represents a 105% premium to where Spirit shares closed trading yesterday.

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