Term Sheet — Thursday, December 24

Earlier this week I asked you for predictions about what would happen over the next year. You replied by the dozens, and below are just a few select offerings, with an emphasis on brevity. I've posted all of them here (save for the 'Candidate X will be elected president' ones, since there seemed to be at least one for every major candidate):

Justin: "2016 will be a year of reckoning for many private, VC-backed companies, as the desire for liquidity sparks many IPOs priced well below most recent financing rounds, but this will not lead to a catastrophic recession."

Kevin: "One or two Chinese banks will also be compelled to merge with other banks too due to non-performing loans."

Charles: "Apple buys Ford."

Robert: “Space X will announce its trip to Mars"

Tom: "As Clubber Lang said in Rocky III: Pain."

Matt: "Dick Costolo is at the center of a major comedy media deal."

Mark: "Unicorn paper returns deflate faster than any ball ever thrown by Tom Brady." (figured I needed to include at least one of these -- there were a bunch of predictions from readers who apparently root for sad, bumbling and unsuccessful football teams).

Derek: "The S&P will hit 1,800 near the middle of 2016 as the US slips into a recession due student loan issues, distorted “headline” unemployment rate, continued declines in China, and austerity imposed on the troubled Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece & Spain. Let’s be honest, how are the 'ghost cities' in China not a red flag?"

Jonathan: "Fields of unicorns are turned into a Walking Dead scene after international and strategic capital dries up and no respectable late-stage VC is willing to dive into the empty pool that is a $500M Series Q round.

Gil: "Anything that makes American's fatter will increase in revenues and value. Anything that helps American's feel fitter will increase in revenues and value."

Gilbert: "There will be hideous acts of violence but the world will rally to support decent people with a simple message of love and kindness."

Again, you can view all of the predictions by going here.

Have a great holiday weekend. Talk with you again on Jan. 4, when I'll be in Las Vegas for CES. Or, if you can't wait, hit me up on Twitter @danprimack. Go Pats!

THE BIG DEAL

• Salesforce.com(Nasdaq: CRM) has agreed to acquireSteelBrick, a San Mateo, Calif.-based provider of quote-to-cash apps built on the Salesforce platform, for around $360 million in stock.

SteelBrick had raised around $75 million in total VC funding , including a recent Series C round at a $260 million post-money valuation. Investors included Salesforce Ventures, Institutional Venture Partners, Emergence Capital and Shasta Ventures.www.steelbrick.com

VENTURE CAPITAL DEALS

• Palantir Technologies,a Palo Alto, Calif.-based provider of big data fusion platforms for public and private-sector clients, has increased its Series K round of funding by $200 million, according to a regulatory filing. This brings the round total to $880 million, at a pre-money valuation of around $19.6 billion. www.palantir.com

•Innovid, a New York-based provider of interactive video advertising solutions, has raised $15 million in new VC funding.NewSpring Capitalwas joined by return backers Sequoia Capital Israel, Genesis Partners, Cisco Ventures and T-Venture. The company also secured $12.5 million in venture debt from Silicon Valley Bank and Triple Point Capital.Read more.

• Semantic Machines, a Newton, Mass.-based developer of conversation AI technology, has raised $12.38 million in new VC funding, according to a regulatory filing. Investors include Bain Capital Ventures and General Catalyst Partners.Read more.

• Altruista Health Inc., a Reston, Va.-based provider of population health management technology solutions for health plans and healthcare providers, has secured an undisclosed amount of funding fromCapricorn Healthcare & Special Opportunities.www.altruistahealth.com

PRIVATE EQUITY DEALS

• ArcLight Capital Partnershas formed a new portfolio company,Eastern Generation LLC, to acquire a natural gas and dual-fuel fired portfolio consisting of seven U.S. power generation plants totaling 4.8 GW. The seller wasTenaska Capital Management. No financial terms were disclosed.www.arclightcapital.com

• Baring Private Equity Asiahas offered to acquireInterplex Holdings, a Singapore-listed engineering firm majority-owned byCVC Capital PartnersandStandard Chartered Private Equity, for around US$320 million.Read more.

• Harbour Grouphas acquiredSP Industries Inc., a Warminster, Penn.-based maker of scientific equipment and biological drug manufacturing solutions, fromGraham Partners. No financial terms were disclosed. Lincoln International managed the process.www.spindustries.com

• Main Capitalhas acquiredB+M Informatik AG, a German provider of software for banks and insurance companies, from publicly-tradedAllgeier SE. No financial terms were disclosed.www.bmiag.de

•Precision for Medicine Inc., a Chevy Chase, Md.-based provider of services for drug development and commercialization, has secured $75 million in growth equity funding from TPG Growth.
www.precisionformedicine.com

• ProAct Services Corp., a Ludington, Mich.-based portfolio company ofHammond, Kennedy, Whitney & Co., has acquiredCarbonair, a Roseville, Minn.-based provider of water treatment equipment. No financial terms were disclosed.www.carbonair.com

•Providence Equity Partners has agreed to acquire Biteì Finance International BV, a mobile operator in Baltic countries, from Mid Europa Partners for an undisclosed amount. www.provequity.com

• StoneCalibrehas acquired theSecure Document Exchangebusiness unit of France’sSagemcom Documents SASfor an undisclosed amount. The deal includes Sagemcom Canada, which will change its name to XMedius Solutions.www.stonecalibre.com

• Varsity Brands, a Memphis, Tenn.-based portfolio of student participation brands, has acquiredAllGoods LLC, a Grand Prairie, Texas-based apparel-oriented fundraising company. No financial terms were disclosed. Varsity Brands is a portfolio company ofCharlesbank Capital Partners.www.varsity.com

IPOs

•Proteostasis Therapeutics Inc., a Cambridge, Mass.-based developer of therapeutics to treat diseases caused by defects in protein processing, has filed for an $86.25 million IPO. It plans to trade on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol PTI, with Leerink Partners and RBC Capital Markets serving as lead underwriters. The pre-revenue company has raised over $50 million in VC funding, from firms like Elan Science One (21.6% pre-IPO stake), New Enterprise Associates (17.1%), Healthcare Ventures (13.9%), Fidelity Biosciences (11.7%), Novartis Bioventures (11.6%), Sanofi-Genzyme BioVentures (5.8%) and Cormorant Asset Management. www.proteostasis.com

EXITS

• ICV Partnershas soldStauber Performance Ingredients, a Fullerton, Calif.-based distributor of nutraceutical ingredients, toHawkins Inc.(Nasdaq: HWKN) for $157 million.www.stauberusa.com

• RNTS Media(DB: RNM) has acquiredHeyzap, a San Francisco-based provider of mobile advertising solutions for app developers, for upwards of $25 million (including $20m in upfront payments). Heyzap had raised around $8 million in VC funding -- including a Series B1 round in early 2013 at a $27 million post-money valuation -- from firms likeUnion Square VenturesandQualcomm Ventures.www.heyzap.com

OTHER DEALS

•NorfolkSouthern(NYSE: NCS) formally rejected a sweetened takeover bid from Canadian Pacific (TSX: CP). The offer would have valued NorfolkSouthern at around $30 billion, plus included “contingent value rights” to Norfolk shareholders. Read more.

FIRMS & FUNDS

•No firm or fund news this morning.

Moving In, On & Up

• Yutaka Nishimura, former president and regional CEO of Richemont Japan Ltd., has joined The Carlyle Group as an operating executive in the firm’s Japan buyout group. www.carlyle.com

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