Eighteen months ago we reported that a group of investment and sports industry vets were forming the first private equity firm dedicated to buying stakes in professional sports teams. It felt novel and niche, the sort of one-off that might raise capital from enterprising special sits portfolio managers who secretly hoped for a few front-row tickets.

Fast forward: Private equity has become obsessed with pro sports, from American basketball to European soccer to New Zealand rugby. And that upstart firm, called Arctos, leveraged this fervor on the fundraising circuit.

• Arctos is nearing a final close on more than $2.1 billion for its debut fund, compared to original plans to raise between $1 billion and $1.5 billion, Axios has learned. The firm also secured around another $1 billion in co-investment and separately managed account commitments.
• Word is that nearly half of that money is already committed, to minority stakes in teams like the Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors and the (pending World Series champion 🤞) Boston Red Sox.
• Arctos declined comment.

Big picture: Investment strategies around pro sports are expanding beyond the original thesis laid out by Arctos and an NBA-specific fund from Dyal Capital, which was to provide liquidity to passive minority owners (i.e., mirroring private equity secondaries).

• Some deals, both completed and in market, are more about growth equity than exits.
• Lots of that involves media and marketing initiatives, but it should eventually extend to real estate.
• We're also seeing pro sports deals from generalist private equity funds, like Sixth Street buying into the San Antonio Spurs.

The bottom line: Private equity has taken the field and plans to stay there.

TripActions, a Palo Alto-based enterprise travel and spend management platform, raised $275 million in Series F funding at a $7.25 billion valuation led by Greenoaks Capital.

• Why it's the BFD: This has deep shades of last month's tech darling Toast, a hot startup that laid off hundreds early in the pandemic as its revenue dissipated, before recovering with a valuation vengeance.

• Other investors include Elad Gil, Base Partners and insiders Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Group 11 and Zeev Ventures.
• The bottom line: "The latest financing ... signals an expansion for TripActions from being a primarily corporate travel startup to also, more broadly, a spend management company. This means it is in the same category as fast-growing fintechs such as Brex and Ramp. But the biggest difference, in [CEO Ariel] Cohen's view, is that those two companies 'are disparate from travel' and thus focus more on SMEs while TripActions is more focused on enterprise companies." — Mary Ann Azevedo, TechCrunch

• Hibob, an HR platform for mid-sized businesses, raised $150 million in Series C funding at a $1.5 billion pre-money valuation. General Atlantic led, and was joined by insiders Bessemer Venture Partners, Battery Ventures, Eight Roads and Entrée Capital. http://axios.link/JDOZ

• GoodLeap, a sustainable home financing platform led by ex-SolarCity exec Hayes Barnard, recently raised more than $1 billion at a $12 billion valuation from backers like Michael Dell and Laurence Tosi, per WSJ. http://axios.link/0BJL

• Bolt Financial, an S.F.-based e-commerce checkout experience company, raised $389 million at a $6 billion valuation from Untitled Investments, Willoughby Capital, Soma Capital and insiders General Atlantic, Tribe Capital, Activant Capital and Moore Strategic Ventures. http://axios.link/a51F

• Trumid, a New York-based bond trading platform, raised $208 million. Point Break Capital Management led, and was joined by Motive Partners, Senator Investment Group, TPG, BlackRock and T. Rowe Price. http://axios.link/0CTS

• CarDekho, an Indian new and used car marketplace, raised $200 million in Series E funding (plus $50M in debt). LeapFrog Investments led, and was joined by Canyon Partners, Mirae Asset, Franklin Templeton, Harbor Spring Capital and insiders Sequoia Capital India and Sunley House. http://axios.link/5HvH

• Dexterity, a Redwood City, Calif.-based logistics robotics company, raised $140 million in Series B equity and debt funding from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Kleiner Perkins, Obvious Ventures, B37 Ventures and Presidio Ventures. www.dexterity.ai

• Karat, a Seattle-based HR interviewing platform, raised $110 million in Series C funding at a $1.1 billion valuation. Tiger Global led, and was joined by fellow insiders Norwest Venture Partners, 8VC, Exor, Base Partners and Sempervirens Fund. http://axios.link/bzlr

• Halo, a Chicago-based structured investing platform, raised over $100 million in Series C funding. Owl Capital led, and was joined by Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners and insiders Allianz Life Ventures and William Blair. http://axios.link/dtvF

🚑 Lively, an S.F.-based health savings account startup, raised $80 million in Series C funding. B Capital Group led, and was joined by Telstra Ventures and insider Costanoa Ventures. www.livelyme.com

• Funnel, a Stockholm-based no-code tool for marketers to organize data, raised $66 million. AP4 and Stena Sessan co-led, and were joined by insiders Balderton Capital, Eight Roads, F-Prime, Oxx and Industrifonden. http://axios.link/A2Hw

• Beacon Platform, a New York-based quant development platform for custom trading and risk management apps, raised $56 million in Series C funding. Warburg Pincus led, and was joined by insiders Centana Growth Partners, Global Atlantic Financial Group and PIMCO. www.beacon.io

• Nothing, a London-based earbuds maker, raised $50 million in new Series A funding. Existing backers include GV. http://axios.link/Iocb

• Black Kite, a Boston-based cyber risk ratings startup, raised $22 million in Series B funding. Volition Capital led, and was joined by Moore Strategic Ventures, Glasswing Ventures and Data Point Capital. www.blackkite.com

• Jow, a French meal and grocery planning service, raised $20 million. Eurazeo led, and was joined by insiders Headline, DST and Stride.VC. http://axios.link/mWRA

• Nelo, a Mexico City-based BNPL startup, raised $20 million. Two Sigma Ventures led, and was joined by insiders Homebrew, Susa Ventures and Crossbeam. http://axios.link/vUyX

• AmplifAI, a Plano, Texas-based, raised $12.5 million in Series A funding (plus $6m in debt). Greycroft led, and was joined by LiveOak Venture Partners, Dallas Venture Partners and Capital Factory. www.amplifai.com

• Cord, a startup that automates annotation for computer vision data, raised $12.5 million in Series A funding. CRV led, and was joined by YC Continuity, Harpoon Ventures and Crane Venture Partners. www.cord.tech

• SheeldMarket, a Paris-based cryptocurrency broker, raised $10 million in Series A funding led by Atomico. http://axios.link/wshe

🚑 Seraphina Therapeutics, a San Diego-based biotech focused on fatty acids and micronutrient therapeutics, raised $5 million from backers like Domain Associates, Cue Ball Capital and Benvolio Group. www.seraphinatherapeutics.com

• EngFlow, a German startup that speeds up code compiling, raised $3.7 million in seed funding. Andreessen Horowitz led, and was joined by First Minute Capital and Alchemist Accelerator. http://axios.link/sTLV

• FourFront, a TikTok storytelling startup, raised $1.5 million in seed funding from Bam Ventures, Slow Ventures, BDMI, Alumni Ventures Group and HustleFund. http://axios.link/V9dA

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• Chatham Asset Management offered to buy the 85% stake it doesn’t already hold in R.R. Donnelley & Sons (NYSE: RRD) for $7.50 per share in cash. http://axios.link/17Ie

• Global Processing Services, a London-based payments and embedded finance platform, raised $300 million from Advent International and Viking Global Investors. http://axios.link/3flg

• GTCR agreed to buy Lexipol, a Frisco, Texas-based provider of public safety policy and training solutions, from The Riverside Company. www.lexipol.com

• Howden Group, a London-based portfolio company of HG Capital, bought British insurance broker Aston Lark from Goldman Sachs and Bowmark Capital for £1.1 billion. http://axios.link/ywZP

• Interfirst, a San Jose, Calif.-based mortgage originator, raised $175 million from StoicLane. www.interfirst.com

• Kinderhook Industries acquired Coleman Powersports, a Tempe, Ariz.-based maker of ATVs and other sports vehicles. www.colemanatv.com

🎵 KKR is nearing a $1.1 billion purchase of a song catalog, including hits from Lorde and The Weeknd, from music services firm Kobalt, per the FT. Kobalt backers include Section 32, MSD Capital, Baldterton Capital and Cape Capital. http://axios.link/I3C3

• Vuori, a Carlsbad, Calif.-based activewear company, raised $400 million at a $4 billion valuation from SoftBank. http://axios.link/5S37

• Coolblue, a Dutch online retailer of electronics, postponed IPO plans. http://axios.link/F4jP

• Fertiglobe, an Abu Dhabi-based fertilizer and ammonia joint venture of Abu Dhabi National Oil and OCI, set IPO terms with an implied equity value of between $5.5 billion and $6 billion. It also said hedge fund manager Jeff Ubben would join its board. http://axios.link/JhQ9

• Lulu's Fashion Lounge, a Chico, Calif.-based women's apparel retailer, filed for an IPO. It plans to list on the Nasdaq (LVLU) and reports $7 million of net income on $173 million in revenue for the first half of 2021. Backers include CPPIB and IVP. http://axios.link/VkYd

🌭 Portillo's, a fast casual restaurant chain known for Chicago-style hot dogs, set IPO terms to 20.3 million shares at $17-$20. It would have a $1.3 billion market value, were it to price in the middle, plans to list on the Nasdaq (PTLO) and reports $14 million of net income on $258 million in revenue for the first half of 2021. Shareholders include Berkshire Partners. http://axios.link/DCXk

• The Real Good Food Co., a Cherry Hill, N.J.-based maker of low-carb high-protein packaged foods, filed for an $86 million IPO. It plans to list on the Nasdaq (RGF) and reports a $10 million net loss on $35 million in revenue for the first half of 2021. Backers include Strand Equity. http://axios.link/Qq5B

🥥 The Vita Coco Co., a New York-based coconut water company, set IPO terms to 11.5 million shares at $18-$21. It would have a $1.1 billion fully diluted value, were it to price in the middle, plans to list on the Nasdaq (COCO) and reports $9 million of net income on $177 million in revenue for the first half of 2021. Backers include Verlinvest. http://axios.link/0HNh

• RedBall Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: RBAC), a SPAC formed by longtime baseball executive Billy Beane and investor Gerry Cardinale, agreed to buy ticket marketplace SeatGeek at a $1.35 billion valuation. The deal includes a $100 million PIPE from existing SeatGeek backer Accel, plus Ryan Smith and Durant’s Thirty Five Ventures. http://axios.link/EooO

• Brimstone Acquisition, SPAC led by Martin Franklin (Royal Oak Enterprises) and Michael Goss (ex-Conde Nast and Sotheby's), withdrew registration for a $250 million IPO. http://axios.link/ip6C

• Green Visor Financial Technology Acquisition I, a fintech SPAC formed by Green Visor Capital, filed for a $150 million IPO. http://axios.link/jfsu

• Columbia Banking System (Nasdaq: COLB), a Tacoma, Wash.-based lender, agreed to buy larger rival Umpqua Holdings (Nasdaq: UMPQ) for $5.1 billion in stock. http://axios.link/7wBv

• Liberty Global (Nasdaq: LBYTA) hired Goldman Sachs to find a buyer for its Belgian towers, which could fetch at least €600 million, per Bloomberg. http://axios.link/dtaN

• Poshmark (Nasdaq: POSH) acquired Suede One, an authentication platform for sneakers. http://axios.link/ZGbV

• Former President Trump is in advanced talks to sell rights to his Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., to CGI Merchant Group for around $370 million, per the WSJ. Axios previously reported on the sale plans.

• Yandex (Nasdaq: TNDX) of Russia bought the Israeli operations of e-scooter sharing company Wind for between $40 million and $50 million per Globes. http://axios.link/qZeD

• The Blackstone Group plans to target up to $10 billion for its second growth equity fund, per Bloomberg. http://axios.link/cMEW

• Francisco Partners raised $2.2 billion for its second opportunistic credit fund focused on tech companies. www.franciscopartners.com

• Hunter Point Capital, led by Bennett Goodman, is seeking to raise up to $2.5 billion for a fund to buy minority stakes in private equity, credit and real estate investment firms, per Bloomberg. http://axios.link/ZkWN

• Lendable is raising $100 million for a fund to back African and Asian fintech startups. http://axios.link/a9EC

• Tembo Capital Management raised $380 million for its third mining-focused private equity fund. http://axios.link/KQP1

• Gus Coldebella joined True Ventures to focus on global public policy and regulation. He previously was general counsel and chief compliance officer at Paradigm. http://axios.link/ka3z

• Bill Lewis is stepping down as chairman of investment banking at Lazard to join Apollo Global Management as a senior partner. http://axios.link/57a0

• Patrice Schuetz joined Antin Infrastructure Partners as a partner and CFO. He previously was with Morgan Stanley. www.antin-ip.com

• Bhuvan Srinivasan joined metabolic fitness company Ultrahuman as chief business officer. He previously was a director with KKR’s India team. www.ultrahuman.com

Energy and power M&A is having its busiest year since 2018. But there is movement within the numbers:

• Oil and gas M&A fell in Q3 from the two-year high in Q2.
• U.S. crude oil just closed above $80 per barrel for the first time since 2014, which could prompt U.S. shale producers to accelerate output.

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