Term Sheet — Friday, December 23

December 23, 2016

OPEN MIC, FEELINGS EDITION

Optimism. More than any other word, that’s how Term Sheet readers say they feel about the next four years. After that, it’s a grab-bag of emotions, assessments, predictions, and observations.

Today I’m sharing your answers to the third and final prompt in our mini-survey: Describe your feelings about the next four years in one word.

I’ve arranged them into a giant, silly, yet somehow evocative, word-blob. Someday I’ll throw a party for Term Sheet readers and hire a spoken word artist to perform them. Just kidding. Enjoy:

Apprehensive. Apprehensive! Anxious. Anxious. Trepidation. Tentative.

Cautious. FEARFUL …or two words: SCARED SHITLESS. Unnerved.

Concerned. Worried.

Bummedfortheenvironment. Resigned. Hunkered down. Impatient.

Fascinated. Scattered. Guarded. Role-reversal.

Millennials. (Boomers.)

Skittish. Skeptic. Wary. Propaganda. Vigilant, on the qui vive! Squeamish.

Headache. Vomit. Litost.

Cyclically-bullish-but-structurally-pessimistic. Recession. Inevitable.

Challenge. Energized. Galvanizing. Determined.

Hope. HOPE. Hope. Confident. Confident. Bullish. Bullish. Upbeat. Fantastic!

Optimistic. Optimistic. Optimistic. Optimistic. Optimistic. Optimistic. Optimistic. Optimistic. Optimistic. Optimistic. Optimistic, despite.

Opportunistic. Opportunistic. Posttraumatic growth.

Pessimistic. Realistic. Saudade.

Uncertain. Uncertain…that will lead to volatility…so, volatility. Chaotic. Drama. Tumultuous. Reckless.

NARNIA.

Transition. Chchchch-changes. Different. History-defining.

Binary—Either the world ends or things are just kind of okay. There is no in-between.

• That’s it: Term Sheet is off for the rest of the year, back on January 3. Till then, enjoy the holidays.

THE LATEST FROM FORTUNE…

• YouTube’s plans for 2017.

• Carl Icahn and banking regulations.

• DOJ sues Barclays execs on mortgage securities fraud. Deutsche settles for $7.2 billion. Credit Suisse settles for $2.48 billion.

• What Microsoft should fix about LinkedIn next year.

• 3 things to watch from Trump’s tax plan.

…AND ELSEWHERE

Canada makes Internet access a right. Pokemon Go watch. Wall Street lawyer turned fanboy toy maker. CalPERS cuts targets. Ghosts of buyouts past. Really, mergers don’t always pay off. How a retailer won by ignoring the Internet. Echo sold out.

VENTURE DEALS

• Koubei, Alibaba Group Holding Limited‘s (NYSE:BABA) on-demand services unit, is close to raising $1.2 billion in funding at about an $8 billion valuation, according to a report Bloomberg. Investors include Silver Lake Management, Yunfeng Capital, and China’s sovereign wealth fund. Read more.

• Huochebang, a Chengdu, China-based company that operates like an Uber service for trucks, raised about $115 million in funding at a $1 billion valuation, according to a report in Bloomberg. International Finance Corp. and All-Stars Investment led the round, with participation from Tencent, Genesis Capital and DCM Ventures. Read more.

• Axoni, a New York City-based provider of distributed ledger technology to the financial services industry, raised $18 million in Series A funding. Wells Fargo and Euclid Opportunities led the round, with participation from Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Thomson Reuters, Andreessen Horowitz, FinTech Collective, F-Prime Capital Partners, and Digital Currency Group.

• Plutora, a Mountain View, Calif.-based developer of release, test environment and quality management software for enterprise IT, raised $13.4 million in funding from Macquarie Capital.

Vend, an Auckland, New Zealand-based developer of point-of-sale software, raised NZD$13 million ($8.9 million) in funding, according to The National Business Review. Movac led the round, and was joined by Square Peg Capital, Jasmine Investments, and Aspiring Asset Management. Read more.

PRIVATE EQUITY DEALS

• Engage2Excel, a Statesville, N.C.-based developer of employee rewards programs backed by Gridiron Capital, has acquired Decision Toolbox, an Irvine, California-based recruitment solutions provider. No financial terms were disclosed.

• Partners Group (SWX:PGHN) has invested 50% equity in Raven, a midstream processing facility to be located in Baytown, Texas.

OTHER DEALS

• Ayala Corp (PSE:AC) said two groups of companies in which its energy unit has stakes will acquire Chevron‘s (NYSE:CVX) Indonesian and Filipino geothermal assets in a deal valued at around $3 billion, according to Reuters. Read more.

• NN Group (NN.AS) has agreed to buy fellow Dutch insurer Delta Lloyd (ENXTAM:DL) for €2.5 billion ($2.61 billion), according to Reuters. At €5.4 ($5.6) per share, the offer represents a 55% premium to Delta Lloyd’s average share price in the three months prior to NN Group’s initial bid. Read more.

• Megafon (LSE:MFON) has agreed to purchase a 63.8% voting stake in Mail.ru (LSE:MAIL) for $740 million, according to Reuters. Read more.

• Panasonic (TSE:6752) has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Zetes (ENXTBR:ZTS) for €149.6 million ($155.8 million), according to Tech.eu. Read more.

IPOS

• Schneider National, a Green Bay, Wis.-based trucking company, filed for an initial public offering that could raise up to $1 billion, according to Renaissance Capital. The company, which booked $4 billion in sales for the 12 months ending September 30, 2016, plans to trade on the NYSE under the ticker symbol SNDR. Pricing terms were not disclosed. Read more.

• Blue Apron, a New York City-based meal-kit delivery company, is delaying plans for an initial public offering so it can improve profit margins enough to support its target valuation of $3 billion, according to Bloomberg. Read more.

EXITS

• Clessidra, an Italian private equity firm, and the Buccellati family have sold an 85% stake in Buccellati Holding Italia, a Milan-based producer of jewelry, watches, and silverware, to the Gangtai Group.

• Frontenac Company, a Chicago-based private equity firm, has sold H-E Parts International, an Atlanta-based maker of aftermarket parts and components for the mining, heavy construction and energy sectors, to Hitachi Construction Machinery Co. Financial terms were not disclosed.

• Gryphon Investors, a San Francisco-based private equity firm, has agreed to sell C.B. Fleet Company, Inc., a Lynchburg, Va.-based consumer health and beauty product manufacturer, to Prestige Brands (NYSE:PBH) for around $825 million.

• Actis, a London-based private equity and venture capital firm, and investment bank Mesoamerica have sold their stake in Globeleq Mesoamerica Energy, a Costa Rican renewable energy company, to Corporacion Multi Inversiones.

NEW JOBS

• First Reserve, a Greenwich, Conn.-based private equity firm, has promoted Matthew Raben and Tim Vincent to managing director, and Tomas Peshkatari to director.