I'm pleased to announce details for our second Axios BFD event, which will bring together dealmakers and business leaders for an afternoon of discussion, debate and drinks. Request an invite.

• When: Wednesday, May 10, 2pm PT.
• Where: San Francisco.
• Why: Because we have lots to talk about.

Confirmed guests include (in alphabetical order): Chip Bergh, CEO of Levi Strauss & Co.; Alicia Boler Davis, CEO of Alto Pharmacy; John Collison, president of Stripe; Marcie Frost, CEO of CalPERS; John Riccitiello, CEO of Unity; Jon Winkelried, CEO of TPG; and Cathie Wood, CEO and CIO of ARK Invest.

• Plus a series of Expert Voices lunches moderated by Axios Pro reporters, and a View from the Top segment with JPMorgan M&A head Anu Aiyengar.

Really looking forward to seeing a lot of Pro Rata readers in San Francisco next month. Be sure to request your invite.

Sixth Street led an investor consortium for a Bay Area expansion team in the National Women's Soccer League.

Why it's the BFD: This makes Sixth Street the first financial institution to hold a control stake in a U.S. pro sports team, and comes as the NWSL's next media rights deal is up for grabs.

Details: The total investment works out to $125 million, including a league-record $53 million expansion fee and the costs of building a new training facility.

• Other investors include Sheryl Sandberg, longtime NBA/WNBA exec Rick Welts and former U.S. Women’s National Team players Brandi Chastain, Leslie Osborne, Danielle Slaton and Aly Wagner.
• No official word yet on where the club will play home games, but don't be surprised if it ends up in San Jose's PayPal Park, sharing space with the local MLS franchise.

Elsewhere in sports deals: The NBA's new collective bargaining agreement will let active players invest in NBA and WNBA teams, via a private equity fund.

The bottom line: "Ninety-nine percent of U.S. sports investment and media and advertising dollars go to men's sports. I think that, within [U.S.] soccer, economic parity is possible within 10 years. That's not taking away from the men, because the pie is growing ... and the best women's soccer in the world is played in the U.S." — Alan Waxman, Sixth Street CEO

• Quantexa, a London-based decision intelligence platform, raised $129m in Series E funding at a $1.8b valuation. GIC led, and was joined by Warburg Pincus, Dawn Capital, British Patient Capital, Evolution Equity Partners, HSBC, BNY Mellon, ABN AMRO and AlbionVC. https://axios.link/3nIryyD

• Everstream Analytics, a San Marcos, Calif.-based supply chain insights and risk analytics company, raised $50m in Series B funding. Morgan Stanley Investment Management and StepStone Group co-led, and were joined by insider Columbia Capital. www.everstream.ai

🚑 Mercy BioAnalytics, a Natick, Mass.-based developer of liquid biopsies for early cancer detection, raised $41m in Series A funding. Novalis LifeSciences led, and was joined by Sozo Ventures, Hatteras Venture Partners, iSelect Fund, American Cancer Society BrightEdge and Broadway Angels. www.mercybio.com

• X Shore, a Swedish electric boat maker, raised €26.5m led by SEB Investment Management. https://axios.link/3GhKRoJ

🐮 Vytelle, a Lenexa, Kan.-based precision livestock startup, raised $20m in Series B funding. Forage Capital Partners led, and was joined by Mountain Group Partners, Grosvenor Food & Ag Tech, Open Prairie, Fulcrum Global Capital, Serra Ventures and KC Rise. www.vytelle.com

• Finanzguru, a German banking and financial advice app, raised €13m. SCOR Ventures and PayPal Ventures co-led, and were joined by Deutsche Bank, Coparion, VR Ventures, Hannover Digital Investments, Venture Stars and ex-Postbank CEO Frank Strauss. https://axios.link/3nLwItH

🚑 Wellth, an LA-based behavioral economics and wellness company, raised $20m in Series B funding. SignalFire led, and was joined by Evolent Health CEO Frank Williams, Social Entrepreneurs’ Fund, CD Venture, Yabeo and Partnership Fund for NYC. www.wellthapp.com

• Li.Fi, a Berlin-based multichain liquidity and data gateway, raised $17.5m in Series A funding. CoinFund and Superscrypt co-led, and were joined by, L1 Digital, Circle, Factor, Perridon, Theta Capital, Three Point Capital and Abra. www.li.fi

⚡ HeatTransformers, a Dutch heat pumps startup, raised €15m in Series A funding. Energy Impact Partners led, and was joined by Fair Capital Partners and Energiiq. https://axios.link/3m5WqZj

• Push Security, a London-based SaaS security startup a London-based, raised $15m in Series A funding. GV led, and was joined by Decibel. www.pushsecurity.com

• Tado, a Munich-based connected thermostat maker, raised €12m from S2G Ventures. www.tado.com

• Votiro, an Austin, Texas-based zero-trust content security startup, raised $11.5m in Series A funding led by Harvest Lane Asset Management. https://axios.link/3zpV0fc

• Redefine.dev, a continuous integration optimization platform, raised $8.5m in seed funding led by Gillot Capital. www.redefine.dev

• Babylon Micro-Farms, a Richmond, Va.-based self-contained vertical farming device startup, raised $8m in Series A funding. Venture South led, and was joined by Virginia Venture Partners, Hull Street Capital and New Theory Ventures. https://axios.link/3U71ady

• Acre, a British blockchain mortgage startup, raised £6.5m from Aviva and Sesame Bankhall Group. https://axios.link/3nxrvp0

• Trustle, a Walnut Creek, Calif.-based provider of cloud access management solutions, raised $6m. Glasswing Ventures led, and was joined by FUSE, Correlation Ventures, and Capital Technology Ventures. www.trustle.io

🚑 Eli, a Montreal-based provider of saliva-based hormone testing for women, raised C$5m in seed funding. Muse Capital led, and was joined by RH Capital and Cake Ventures. www.eli.health

• Shuttlers, a Nigerian shared mobility startup, raised $4m led by Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures. https://axios.link/3ZDF9Ev

• Ecosapiens, an SF-based regenerative finance startup, raised $3.5m in seed funding led by Collab+Currency, per Axios Pro. https://axios.link/3U9QfA2

• Zyod, an Indian provider of apparel sourcing and manufacturing solutions to fashion brands, raised $3.5m in seed funding led by Lightspeed Venture India Partners. https://axios.link/40D1mUl

🚑 Swehl, an LA-based breastfeeding education and support service, raised $1.1m in pre-seed funding from backers like Cleo Capital. https://axios.link/40PWeME

• Narrato, an SF-based AI content creation and collaboration platform, raised $1m in pre-seed funding led by AirTree Ventures. www.narrato.io

Crypto challenges aside, blockchain technology has become an attractive and unexpected M&A target.

Looking ahead: Understand the opportunities and challenges ahead for M&A with insights from RBC Capital Markets’ expert bankers on Strategic Alternatives, the RBC M&A podcast.

Listen now.

• Alstef Group, a French provider of handling and storage solutions to airports and logistics facilities, acquired Solution Net Systems, a Quakertown, Pa.-based industrial automation solutions provider, from Architect Equity. Alstef backers include CDC International Capital and Qatar Investment Authority. www.solutionnetsystems.com

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

• Bridge Investment Group (NYSE: BRDG) completed its $320m acquisition of PE secondaries firm Newbury Partners. www.newbury-partners.com

⚡ Covanta, a Morristown, N.J.-based “waste-to-energy” firm owned by EQT, agreed to buy Circon, a La Porte, Texas-based petrochemical waste management firm, from Twin Brook Capital Partners. https://axios.link/3nFPNgO

• Formerra, a Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.-based portfolio company of H.I.G. Capital, acquired Total Polymer Solutions, a polymer materials distributor. www.totalpolymer.com

• Parthenon Capital completed its acquisition of Pavilion Payments, the gaming payments unit of Global Payments (NYSE: GPN). www.pavilionpayments.com

• Platinum Equity acquired a majority interest in Dunnville, Ky.-based Tarter Farm and Ranch Equipment from the founding Tarter family (which retains a minority stake). www.tarterusa.com

• Verdane invested in Verified, a Swedish KYC and authentication workflow SaaS. www.verified.eu

• Allied Universal, a Santa Ana, Calif.-based security firm owned by Warburg Pincus, said that it’s pausing plans to go public. https://axios.link/3Zz6rfe

• Klaviyo, a Boston-based e-commerce marketing automation company valued by VCs at $9.5b, hired Goldman Sachs to lead an IPO that could price in the second half of 2023, per the WSJ. https://axios.link/3U54Dtm

• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE: AJG) acquired Buck, a New York-based HR, pensions, and employee benefits consultancy, from H.I.G. Capital. www.ajg.com

🚑 Vedere Bio II, a Cambridge, Mass.-based developer of ocular gene therapies that raised $77m in Series A funding, is shutting down after unsuccessful preclinical trials. Backers included Octagon Capital, Samsara BioCapital, Casdin Capital, Atlas Venture, Mission BioCapital and the RD Fund. https://axios.link/3K0tjyu

• Cineworld (LSE: CINE), the owner of Regal movie theaters, said it’s reached an agreement with lenders to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. https://axios.link/3K8tNCQ

• Extra Space Storage (NYSE: EXR) agreed to buy Life Storage (NYSE: LSI) for $12.4b. https://axios.link/3nFhcj1

• The FDIC launched a sale process for a $60b loan portfolio of Signature Bank, which it seized last month. https://axios.link/437cESw

• Fosun International agreed to sell its 60% stake in the parent company of Nanjing Iron & Steel to CITIC for around $2b. https://axios.link/3m0ecNF

• L'Oréal (Paris: OR) agreed to buy Aesop, an Australian skin care brand, from Brazil's Natura Cosmetics for $2.5b. https://axios.link/40ELbGl

• Rathbones (LSE: RAT) agreed to buy the U.K. wealth business of Investec (LSE: INVP) for £839m in stock. https://axios.link/3nHZQSC

• SoFi (Nasdaq: SOFI) acquired Charlotte, N.C.-based Wyndham Capital Mortgage. https://axios.link/3K5xl8P

• KKR raised $8b for its sixth European private equity fund. https://axios.link/3U7xblP

🚑 Cure Ventures, a Boston-based biopharma VC firm, raised $350m for its debut fund. https://axios.link/3m2TIDX

• Ensemble, a VC firm co-led by Collin West and Conrad Shang, raised $100m for its debut fund. https://axios.link/3MjD6Cu

• MidOcean Partners raised over $1.5b for its sixth flagship fund. www.midoceanpartners.com

• Novastar Ventures, a pan-African VC firm, secured a $25m commitment from the U.S International Development Finance Corp. https://axios.link/3U5VEbo

• Seidler Equity Partners raised $1.25b for its eighth midmarket buyout fund, per Buyouts. https://axios.link/3UbHup1

• Alec Ellison joined Houlihan Lokey as global head of fintech banking, per Axios Pro. He’s the former vice chair of Jefferies and chair of OurCrowd. https://axios.link/3KtMbGz

• Mike Owens, founder and former CEO of Absorb Software, joined Silversmith Capital Partners as a senior advisor. www.silversmith.com

• Jason Rosenthal joined Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto team as an operating partner. He most recently worked on Google’s consumer-facing subscription business, and before that worked with Marc Andreessen and/or Ben Horowitz at Ning, Loudcloud and Netscape. https://axios.link/3M9Dgw7

• Eli Silverman joined investment bank Ducera Partners as an LA-based managing director. He previously was in Baird’s restructuring advisory group. www.ducerapartners.com

The FTC yesterday ordered Illumina to divest Grail, the liquid biopsy company it re-acquired in 2021 without regulatory approvals.

• Illumina, which also is under pressure from European regulators and activist investor Carl Icahn, has vowed to appeal.

Tech companies dominated M&A markets last year and are primed to stay on top in terms of transactions.

Expert advice: Understand the opportunities and challenges ahead for M&A with insights from RBC Capital Markets’ expert bankers on Strategic Alternatives, the RBC M&A podcast.

Listen now.

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