💲TPG buying, DFW Airport selling; Governor orders ban on THC; Book-to-film for ex-Tarrant Mayor.

Former Governor Rick Perry’s energy REIT Fermi is planning a 6,000-acre data center and power generation mega-campus outside of Amarillo. It also has filed for an IPO.

A judge has cleared the docket by dismissing the second of two petitions to remove Tarrant County district clerk Tom Wilder.

GE Vernova is selling its Proficy industrial software unit to Fort Worth private equity firm TPG for $600 million. Proficy’s Electrification software revenue in 2024 was $7.55 billion. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2026.

Grapevine-based GameStop reported a nearly 22% rise in second-quarter year-over-year revenue. The revenue increased to $972.2 million, compared with $798.3 million a year ago. Expenses were down $52 million and operating income was up $88.4 million. 

DFW International Airport will sell $2 billion of revenue bonds to fund capital projects and refund outstanding commercial paper notes, according to The Bond Buyer.

The Texas Legislature didn’t pass a law, so Gov. Greg Abbott ordered a ban on the sale of THC products to minors. The Texas Department of State Health Services and the Alcoholic Beverage Commission will have to work out the details before regulations can be introduced. 

Significant stat: $383 billion = Net worth of Oracle’s Larry Ellison, who briefly deposed Elon Musk Wednesday as the world’s richest person during Oracle’s one day stock jump. By the end of the day, the Tesla CEO edged back into the pole position by $1 billion.

The Justice Department filed a civil injunction suit in Fort Worth’s Federal Court to bar Amberley Ritter, Wesley Franklin, Mark Burkart, Kenneth Garner, and DFW Integrity Taxpros Services LLC, which does business as Integrity Tax Pros, from owning or operating a tax preparation business and preparing tax returns for others. The complaint asks the defendants return preparation fees they obtained from preparing allegedly false or fraudulent tax returns.

TRU Simulation’s Veris virtual reality full-motion flight simulator has received FAA level-7 flight training device qualification. The Bell Training Academy in Hurst is the launch customer for the Veris simulator, which replicates the Bell 505 helicopter.

Fort Worth-based SEGG Media Corporation, which owns Sports.com, Concerts.com, and Lottery.com, announced a strategic global distribution partnership with the Døds Diving League (DDL), the platform for a growing extreme sport.

Variosystems, an EMS Partner, has re-launched in Southlake with an expansion in electronics manufacturing expertise.

Quest Collegiate Academy, a tuition-free, public charter school under ResponsiveEd, has opened Quest Collegiate Academy - Fort Worth. Located within the downtown Tarrant County College  campus, the school simultaneously offers students a blend of high school and higher education.

Fort Worth-based Elbit America deploys proven counter-intrusion systems to the U.S. southern border. 

Fort Worth Opera has launched Match the Momentum: 80 Years of Opera in Fort Worth, an ambitious, multi-year fundraising campaign designed to honor its legacy and secure its future. Fort Worth Opera was founded in 1946 by Eloise MacDonald Snyder, Betty Berry Spain, and Jeanne Axtell Walker. To mark its 80th anniversary, a four-year fundraising campaign has begun to raise $1 million. The first goal is $125,000 in new and increased contributions, with a generous matching challenge from several devoted local patrons.

Younger Partners brokered the sale of approximately 121 acres of undeveloped farmland in north Ellis County to Oncor Electric Delivery Company for the construction of an electric transmission/distribution sub-station. The property is located in the southwest quadrant of Interstate 35E and West Sterrett Road. Land development is expected to begin as early as 2026.

Getting an Office of the Police Oversight Monitor took some doing. Bonycle Sokunbi joined Fort Worth as independent police monitor in September 2023, building upon the foundational work of inaugural director Kim Neal. The city prepared this update for residents.

Pinstripes, a dining and entertainment venue at Shops at Clearfork in Fort Worth, has closed, one of 10 locations that were shuttered when the company filed for bankruptcy.

Snippets:

• Former Colleyville Mayor Donna Arp Weitzman's psychological thriller book Twisted Retribution is being turned into a film. 

• The JPS Health Network opens its Psychiatric Emergency Center.

• The Arlington Police Department is partnering with University of Texas-Arlington students on an innovative program to work cold-case crimes. 

Around the web:

• Mortgage demand hits its highest level since 2022 after interest rates fall to their lowest level in nearly a year.

• Health insurance costs for U.S. businesses are projected to rise 9.2%–9.5% next year; it would mark the steepest increase since 2011.

• Potbelly is being acquired by gas station and convenience store chain RaceTrac for ~$566 million.

• Believe it or not: A cruise passenger allegedly jumped overboard to escape a nearly $17,000 gambling debt owed to Royal Caribbean's casino.

Announcements: 

• Fort Worth Opera: Selects Katherine Polenz as Board Chair.

• Fort Worth Police: Officer Ben Wright is the 2025 Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas Officer of the Year.

• Fort Worth Housing Solutions: Hires Kristen Camareno as Chief Operating Officer.

• Holt Lunsford: Promotes Bryce Orr to Chief Financial Officer.

• VQ: Hires Dr. Linda Garcia as Chief Operating Officer. 

• Fort Worth ISD: CFO Carmen Aristarchus-Candelaria is leaving to be Director of Budget and Finance for El Paso County. 

• College Football Playoff: Hires TCU football radio analyst Justin Fuente as its first senior advisor.

• Fort Worth Sister Cities: Adds Amy Normand of Frost (Insurance) to its Board.

• Health Wildcatters: Invites Fort Worth-based Vaccinity, founded by Paul Evans, to its program. Vaccinity is building a patient EHR with AI-powered clinical trial matching to expand access and equity.

• Red Cap: Hires Anthony Spangler as Practice Lead - Analyst & Media Relations. 

• 2026 Eisenhower Global Scholar: Selects TCU graduate Claire Astrid Fuchs as one of four Americans and the first Horned Frog honored, which earns her admission to the University of Oxford in England to pursue a Master of Public Policy degree.

• Minuteman Press: Invites Cullen Street franchise owners Mike and Amy LeBaron into its President’s Club for $1 million in annual sales. 

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