👁️Alcon buys cataract laser firm; Buc-ees, Paddington Bear under attack; Two prominent RE companies merge.

Fort Worth-based Alcon has entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire LENSAR, a medical technology company focused on advanced laser solutions for treating cataracts. The acquisition includes ALLY Robotic Cataract Laser Treatment System, LENSAR’s proprietary Streamline software technology, and LENSAR’s legacy laser system. 

The highly anticipated fourth-quarter financial results for GameStop were highlighted by lower sales but double the profit. The cash position is $4.8B, seemingly signaling financial stability. In addition, Barron's reports that GameStop will invest in Bitcoin.

The Pentagon reassures there is no "kill switch" for the F-35 jet fighter amid international tensions with the Trump administration. Lockheed Martin is the primary manufacturer of the F-35. 

The Department of State greenlit an F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, approving a contract modification worth up to $238 million for Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth. Part of this effort targets non-U.S. Department of Defense partners and Foreign Military Sales customers, signaling a ramp-up in preparations for the next phase of the advanced fighter jet program.

Dog-eat-dog world of copyrights: Buc-ee’s filed a lawsuit against Barc-ee's, a Missouri dog park and coffee shop, operated by EJL Acquisitions and Home Away From Dog Training.

Commercial real estate firms Ellis & Tinsley and Vasseur Commercial Real Estate have merged to form Team & Vasseur Commercial Real Estate. Nathan Vasseur and Charles “C.B.” Team drove the merger and will lead the combined firm. Bill Ellis, co-founder of Ellis & Tinsley, is joining TVCRE as a partner. The firm is located in a renovated building at 4420 W. Vickery Blvd.

The investment leaders behind Fort Worth Stockyards-based U.S. Energy Development Corporation launched U.S. Property Development LLC,  a real estate investment company investing in industrial, self-storage and commercial real estate in the U.S. The new company will draw on the oil and gas leadership team’s experience in asset-based investments and leverage operational efficiencies from a shared back-office platform.

Formation Real Estate hired Grant Huff as Vice President. He previously worked at Trinity Works Development Company, where he contributed to the Clearfork Development, and at NAI Huff Partners, where he was instrumental in office and industrial real estate transactions, before transitioning to Transwestern as part of the 2010 merger.

23andMe filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and co-founder and CEO Anne Wojcicki has resigned. The genetic testing company said it will look to sell “substantially all of its assets” through a court-approved reorganization plan.

Yesterday was Equal Pay Day, and the Texas Women's Foundation produced data that show the wage gap has grown 27% to $60.1 billion since 2019, and women are likely to earn $750k less than men during their lifetime of work. 

Tilman Fertitta, CEO of Fertitta Entertainment LLC, the holding company worth more than $6 billion that includes Landry's Inc., the Houston Rockets and the Golden Nugget Casinos, is stepping down in anticipation of being named U.S. Ambassador to Italy and San Marino.

The movie rights to the first book by Marjorie Herrera Lewis, Global Flag Football League Commissioner and former Dallas Cowboys reporter for The Dallas Morning News and Fort Worth Star-Telegram, have been acquired by independent film production studio Mandalay Pictures. The screenplay for When The Men Were Gone has been finalized. 

Paddington Bear is temporarily benched after a night of terror. Two British service members admitted to breaking and stealing half of a statue of Paddington Bear. Prosecutors said Daniel Heath and William Lawrence were on a drunken night out when they tried to lift the statue from a bench and it broke in two.

Fort Worth's Carlo Capua, Sister Cities national President, says the city is hosting 89 youth ambassadors from around the country to do training here before it sends them to Japan to represent the U.S. at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan for six months. 

The United Way of Tarrant County is hosting its first VITAthon, a free, all-day tax preparation event, on Saturday at two locations. The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program will be available from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Mansfield-based Mouser Electronics released the latest installment of the Empowering Innovation Together technology series, which examines the rapidly evolving field of brain-computer interfaces. The series is a deep dive into the engineering challenges and opportunities of mind-controlled systems.

A federal judge blocked Texas A&M University System officials from enforcing their recently adopted policy banning drag performances on A&M system campuses. Attorneys with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) argued that the ban violated the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

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Graci Finco, a UNT Health Science Center assistant professor, has received a $426,000 National Institute of Health grant for a study on the bio-ethical challenges surrounding bionic and robotic prostheses. He will capture the perspectives of people with limb loss, clinicians and policymakers. "Prosthetic technology is often developed without meaningful input from the people who actually use it,” Finco said.

Fort Worth plans to extend Everman Parkway, connecting Chisholm Trail Parkway and I-35, and is seeking public engagement through a community open house Thursday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Westlake-based financial giants Fidelity Investments and Charles Schwab Corp. are blocking orders of BlackRock and Texas Capital ETFs.

Significant stat: D-FW ranks second to Savannah, Ga., in a ranking of industrial real estate under construction, according to CommercialSearch. D-FW has 22.6 million square feet under construction. Savannah has 24.7 million.

Snippets:

• Wall Street sees signs that worst of U.S. stock selloff is over.

• No CEOs made $100M for the first time in a decade.

• The world’s most expensive dog sells for $5.8+ million.

• 18 things you didn’t know your iPhone could do.

 Announcements:

• Colliers: Adds Jakob Andersen as executive vice president.

• AT&T: Hires Greg Lohmeyer as Senior Technical Consultant.  

• Omnicell: Hires Perry A. Genova as SVP and Chief Technology Officer.

• Fort Worth Stockyards: Hires Katherine Smith as Senior Director.

• Trademark Property Company: Adds Peter Cavazos as Vice President of Asset Management.

• KAI: Appoints Blaik Ritchie as Principal of Architecture.

• Nanoscope Therapeutics: Adds Ademola Daramola as Vice President of Quality and Compliance.

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