Term Sheet — Thursday, September 22

Yes, the two situations are related. This one has taken us from San Diego to Texas to Dubai to Pakistan, and involved a phone call from an anonymous "attorney" who was very interested in learning what I had uncovered. Within the past 24 hours, most of the related websites have gone offline. Here you go: The Ghost in the VC Machine.

• Personnel notes: Bill Siegel has stepped down as head of NASDAQ Private Market (which he joined via the SecondMarket acquisition), in order to join cyber-security startup SecurityScorecard as CFO. In other personnel news, GTCR has quietly promoted Benjamin Daverman and Lawrence Fey to managing directors, and Stephen Jeschke to principal.

• Quiz time: Can you name the "unicorn" that just held a closing dinner for its latest mega-funding, even though the entire deal isn't entirely closed?

• Making the grade: Fortune's latest 40 Under 40 list was released this morning. Only two financiers -- Goldman banker Kim Posnett and hedge fund manager Ides McKeever -- but plenty of CEO types whose names will be familiar to Term Sheet readers. Here is the full list.

THE BIG DEAL

• E.L.F. Beauty, an Oakland, Calif.-based cosmetics company, raised around $142 million in its IPO. The company priced 8.33 million shares at $17 per share (above $14-$16 range), for an initial market cap of approximately $754 million. It will trade on the NYSE under ticker symbol ELF, while J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley served as lead underwriters.

E.L.F. reports $1.1 million of net income on $97 million in revenue for the first half of 2016, compared to $2.7 million of net income on $75 million of revenue for the year-earlier period. TPG Growth holds a 56.8% ownership stake, based on an early purchase from TSG Consumer Partners for an undisclosed amount. Read more.

VENTURE CAPITAL DEALS

• Avalara Inc., a Seattle-based provider of tax compliance automation software, has raised $96 million in new growth equity funding ($46 million of which is a secondary to repurchase shares from early investors). Return backers include Warburg Pincus, TCV and  Sageview Capital. www.avalara.com

• Centec Networks, a China-based provider of of Ethernet switching silicon and SDN white b ox solutions, has raised $47 million in Series E funding led by China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund. www.centecnetworks.com

• BrightFarms Inc., a New York-based national brand of local produce, has raised $30.1 million in Series C funding. Catalyst Investors led the round, and was joined by return backers WP Global Partners and NGEN Partners. www.brightfarms.com

• Brightline, a New York -based provider of "advanced TV" solutions, has raised $20 million in Series A funding led by Joe Moglia (chairman of TD Ameritrade and Fundamental Global Investors).

• InfluxData, a San Francisco-based developer of an open-source platform for managing “time-series” data, has raised $16 million in Series B funding. Battery Ventures led the round, and was joined by return backers Mayfield, Trinity Ventures and Bloomberg Beta. www.influxdata.com

• Operator, a China-based personal shopping assistant chatbot, $15 million in Series B funding at a $100 million pre-money valuation. GGV Capital led the round, and was joined by Formation8, Morningside Ventures, Horizons Ventures and return backers Greylock Partners and Expa. Read more.

• Mavrx, a San Francisco-based provider of aerial imagery technologies for the agriculture market, has raised $10 million in Series A funding. Eclipse Ventures led the round, and was joined by Bloomberg Beta and Visionnaire Ventures. www.mavrx.co

• Sonder, a San Francisco-based P2P “homtel” platform for travelers (i.e., Airbnb plus hotel hospitality), has raised $10 million in Series A funding. Spark Capital led the round, and was joined by Thayer Ventures, Real Ventures and BDC Capital. It previously raised $5 million. www.sondercollection.com

• GameCo., a Las Vegas-based developer of “skill-based video game gambling machines,” has raised $8.25 million in seed and Series A funding. Javelin Venture Partners led the round, and was joined by Courtside Ventures, QB1 Ventures, New York Angels, Steel Partners and individual angels. www.gco.gg

• TrueFacet, a New York-based online marketplace for used jewelry and watches, has raised $6 million in Series A funding. Maveron led the round, and was joined by Freestyle Capital, Social Leverage, Founders' Co-op, Trilogy, Liquid2 Ventures and individual angels. www.truefacet.com

Vina, a new social network for girls, has raised $1.4 million in seed funding from Greylock, NEA, Wildcat Venture Partners and Tinder. Read more.

PRIVATE EQUITY DEALS

• GI Partners has completed its previously-announced acquisition of Daxko Inc., a Birmingham, Ala.-based provider of software to member-based health and wellness organizations, from Pamlico Capital. No financial terms were disclosed. www.daxko.com

• Harley-Davidson Inc. (NYSE: HOG) stock climbed nearly 7% in early trading yesterday, on renewed rumors about buyout interest from KKR. It closed the day up 3.93%, giving it a market cap of $9.45 billion. Read more.

• Prospect Partners has acquired an undisclosed equity stake in All Glass & Windows, a Sarasota, Fla.-based installer and distributor of distributes impact-resistant glass and glass-related products for general contractors and builders. No financial terms were disclosed. www.allglasswindows.com

• Solina Group, a UK-based food ingredient solutions company owned by Ardian, has agreed to acquire New Ivory, a maker of culinary sauces. No financial terms were disclosed. www.solina-group.eu

IPOs

• SenesTech Inc., a Flagstaff, Ariz.-based developer of fertility control solutions for animal pest populations, has filed for a $28.75 million IPO. It plans to trade on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol SNES, with Roth Capital Partners serving as underwriter. www.senestech.com

EXITS

• Airware, a Newport Beach, Calif.-based drone OS and hardware startup, has acquired Redbird, a provider of drone analytis, for an undisclosed amount. Airware has raised around $82 million in VC funding from firms like Andreessen Horowitz and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Redbird had raised over €2 million from groups like ENGIE NewVentures. Read more.

• EQT Partners has hired J.P. Morgan to find a buyer for German healthcare BSN Medical, according to Bloomberg. The deal could be valued at around €3 billion, with several private equity firms reported to have interest. Read more.

OTHER DEALS

• A.P. Moller-Maersk, a listed Danish conglomerate, said that it will split into separate transport and energy companies. Read more.

• Yum China Holdings, the China business being spun off by KFC owner Yum Brands (NYSE: YUM), has filed to issue 10 million shares to select participants in Yum incentive plan. Read more.

FIRMS & FUNDS

• FountainVest Partners has closed its third China-focused private equity fund with $2.1 billion in capital commitments, according to the WSJ. Read more.

• Signia Venture Partners has closed its second early-stage tech VC fund with $85 million in capital commitments. Read more.

MOVING IN, ON & UP

• Gianluca D’Angelo has joined fund placement firm Eaton Partners as a managing director and head of Europe. He previously was a partner with Probitas Partners UK. Eaton also has added James Townend (ex- Nomura Asset Management) as a director. www.eatonpartnersllc.com

• Eyal Malinger has joined VC firm Beringea as a UK-based investment director. He previously led property technology investments for Countrywide PLC. Beringea also has added both Olivia Cramer (ex-BofA Merrill Lynch) and Philip Edmondson-Jones (ex-OC&C Strategy Consultants) as associates. www.beringea.co.uk

• Don Sturdivant, former CEO of FleetPride, has joined private equity firm Snow Phipps Group as an operating partner focused on the packaging industry.

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