👁️Fort Worth CEO envisions $1T business; TXO and TPG Rise are dealing; A&M brand racing with the Indy pros.

The largest U.S. producing oil company is voting to "officially" move to Texas. ExxonMobil, which runs its headquarters out of Spring, Tex., a suburb of Houston, will have a shareholder vote May 27 to re-incorporate from New Jersey to Texas. Something about a friendlier business environment...

🌷Scheduling note: 817 Biz will be off for spring break starting March 16 and will resume publishing March 23.

TXO announced that Cross Timbers Energy, a joint venture in which it holds a 50% interest, has executed purchase and sale agreements with multiple private buyers to sell oil and gas properties totaling approximately $200 million. If consummated, they represent substantially all of of Cross Timbers' assests. TXO expects to receive approximately $100 million in net proceeds and intends to use a portion to pay the $70-million deferred payment for the 2025 purchase of assets from White Rock Energy, due July 31, 2026. TXO is primarily owned and funded by Bob Simpson. 

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy and the Federal Aviation Administration selected a Texas Department of Transportation proposal to be part of the Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing Integration Pilot Program. TxDOT and industry partners will support regional test flights connecting the Texas Triangle (Dallas/Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio and Houston) and rural communities with air taxi networks expanding from each city to extend regional reach. Seven other government agencies nationwide with projects spanning 26 states also were selected for programs.

Infosys, a digital services and consulting company, is partnering with Roanoke-based Incora, a leader in supply chain solutions in the aerospace and defense industry, to advance the use of artificial intelligence across Incora's 60-country supply chain operations.

San Francisco- and Fort Worth-based TPG said its TPG Rise Climate investing platform had sold its stake in Intersect to partner Google for $4.75 billion, plus the assumption of debt. Intersect is able to co‑locate data‑center load with clean generation and storage, with a model that is scalable for meeting growing computing demand. As part of the transaction, TPG, Google, Climate Adaptive Infrastructure and Greenbelt Capital Partners, spun off Intersect’s grid-tied power business to form IPX Power, with majority backing from TPG Rise Climate. 

The CEO of Fort Worth-based AmeriTrust Financial Technologies has plans to scale the used vehicle leasing market into $1 trillion of auto financing. 

In an exclusive joint interview with D CEO, the Dallas Mavericks' new CEO and President reveal how their decades of experience—and distinct philosophies—are shaping the team’s next era, on and off the court.

Aggies not joking about this branding: Texas A&M University will be center stage at the Java House Grand Prix of Arlington this weekend. The school is a sponsor of the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Honda driven by Felix Rosenqvist in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. The Aggie maroon livery will debut on a national FOX broadcast, joined by a custom Troy Lee Designs helmet created for the race.

Links we like for the Java House Grand Prix of Arlington (March 13-15):

• Official event site.

• Official INDYCar race page.

• Arlington CVB / Visit Arlington race-weekend hub.

AgTexas Farm Credit Services, a member-owned, agricultural cooperative serving producers in 43 counties, is distributing more than $35 million in patronage checks to its members. The cooperative’s Board of Directors commits to sharing earnings with the members who finance their agriculture properties and activities through AgTexas, which has 11 offices in the Lubbock, Amarillo and Fort Worth areas.

The American Airlines AAdvantage program launched an AAdvantage® gift cards platform. Members can redeem miles for gift cards from top brands — including Sephora, Nike and Best Buy — across retail, dining, entertainment and more. Gift card values range from $10 to $500.

General Motors faces a proposed class-action lawsuit alleging its 1.2-liter turbocharged, three-cylinder engines in the 2024 Chevrolet Trax and three other models since 2024 suffer from dangerous defects. Plaintiffs claim GM knew about premature failures, stalling and fire risks, but concealed the issues and denied warranty coverage.

Tarleton State University has a $500,000 grant from the Texas A&M System Research Excellence Fund to support 10 new doctoral fellowship initiatives. Consideration will be given to high-achieving doctoral students in three priority research programs: Animal & Natural Resource Sciences; Experimental Psychology; and Integrative Biosciences.

Think FIFA: Arlington has an initiative called the Special Event Parking Lot Permit Program, also known as the Entrepreneurial Parking Program. The program allows eligible property owners — including businesses, churches and schools — to operate paid parking lots during large events in Arlington’s Entertainment District.

FIFA 2: Delays in federal funding won’t disrupt FIFA World Cup security plans in north Texas, officials say.

Is Fort Worth a healthy financial city? Its Financial Management Services Department has created the Fiscal Year 2025 Popular Annual Financial Report. The PAFR provides residents with an overview of Fort Worth’s financial health.

Arlington-based professional soccer team North Texas SC’s partnership with Orangetheory Fitness of North Texas is the first signed through North Texas SC’s Founding Partners initiative. Orangetheory will deliver activation on-site at home matches, feature stadium LED signage and present a sponsored halftime segment, the “FLEX CAM”.

The operating company of The Westin Dallas Southlake requested a zoning change and site plan to include a variance for an event venue. Southlake's city council has the request on the April 7 agenda for formal approval. Paul Barham, CEO of SRH Hospitality, told Community Impact, the hotel identified a need for an event space with an indoor component. 

Google closed its $32-billion deal to acquire cybersecurity company Wiz, marking the tech giant's largest acquisition.

AAF Fort Worth has announced the winners of the 2026 American Advertising Awards, recognizing outstanding creative work from agencies, brands, freelancers and students across north Texas. The full list of winners is here.

Believe it or not: Two Texas women were arrested in Louisiana after using a drone attached to a Crow decoy to drop drugs onto the grounds of a federal prison.

Donna Williams of Arlington has been appointed to Governor Greg Abbott's Commission for Women. She is a Vice President and program manager for Parsons Transportation Group. She served as Vice Chair of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board from 2021 to April 2024, and previously was selected for the Texas State University Board of Regents.

The Texas U.S. House delegation has lost at least 12 members. It could be more with the runoffs and the elections to come. The Texas Tribune assesses what that could mean for the state. 

Ashley Furniture is ending its manufacturing operations and will cut 266 positions in Mesquite. The retailer has several stores in the D-FW area, including in Arlington, Grapevine and Fort Worth.

Snippets:

• Fort Worth and Texas have prospered working with the film industry. Georgia did, too, until it didn't.

• The White House issues looooooong list of announced U.S. investments during President Donald Trump’s second term. 

• GameStop managed to attract 270 Marios on MAR10 Day in New York, which is good enough to secure it/them the world record. The previous record gathering of Mario(s) was 230, set in Mongolia, China on August 18, 2010.

• What’s this new word trashion? It’s Trash + Fashion, and Fort Worth is celebrating it during the Trashion Fashion Show at Trinity Park March 28. Host Keep Fort Worth Beautiful encourages participants to create clothing or accessories using re-claimed, re-used, or discarded materials. Entries must be at least 50% trash or recyclable materials. The deadline for entries is March 25.

Daily digit: $122 million = The money already spent in the Texas Senate race between U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is the most in history, according to AdImpact. Their runoff up to May 26 will add to the total. 

Significant stat: $286 million = State and local taxes generated in 2025 from the visitor economy in Fort Worth, up from $251 million in 2024.

Announcements:

• Simmons Bank: Promotes Laura Condley to Senior Vice President-Private Banking Market Executive, overseeing Texas and Oklahoma. 

• REV Entertainment: Adds Peyton Niebur as Digital Media Coordinator.

• MGT: Adds Cristal Galvan as Vice President of Growth and Partnerships. 

• Wier & Associates: Elects Riley Cox, P.E., as an Associate.

• MythWorx: Names Kira Martinec Chief Operating Officer.

• Weatherford ISD: Names Dr. Sean Scott lone finalist for Superintendent. 

• Elevate Protection Group: Adds Gina Scholl as Operations Manager. 

• Forbes Nonprofit Council: Adds Center for Transforming Lives CEO Carol Klocek to its circle.

• Sabre: Names Niklas Andréen Chief Commercial Officer-Airline Tech. 

• Parker County Chamber: Honors Lyn Walsh of the Careity Foundation with its first Legacy Member Award, the Chamber’s highest recognition that honors individuals whose sustained leadership and lasting contributions have significantly strengthened the organization and the Parker County community.

• American Institute for Full Employment: Honors Texas Workforce Commission with its 2025 Full Employment Award, presented annually to organizations or individuals with outstanding commitment to helping unemployment insurance claimants return to work. 

• Architectural Fabrication: Appoints Ty Jackson Vice President of Architectural Programs.

• American Institute of Certified Planners: Selects Fort Worth Assistant City Manager Dana Burghdoff as a 2026 Class of Fellows. 

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