Term Sheet — Friday, December 23

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.