💉Gilead bets on Southlake firm's platform; Ben E. Keith will toast this drink deal; Six Flags ownership on a rollercoaster.

Gilead is paying $300 million for Southlake-based OncoNano Medicine's ON-BOARD platform to deliver one of the healthcare giant's investigational cancer drugs. The deal is layered and includes an upfront commitment, milestones and additional payments related to an additional target. ON-BOARD packages drugs in pH-sensitive miscelles that ensure their specific delivery near tumors, while also preventing systemic tumors. 

The Department of Defense/War signed a seven-year "landmark framework agreement" with Lockheed Martin that establishes a transformative acquisition model to expand munitions production and procurement—one that delivers long-term demand certainty, incentivizing industrial investment to increase production, cut lead times and drive supply chain management efficiencies. Lockheed will increase annual production of the PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement interceptor from approximately 600 to 2,000.

Fort Worth-based TPG reportedly is close to a $1.35 billion-plus deal for Optum’s UK operation. Optum, owned by UnitedHealth Group, supplies the electronic patient record system used by the majority of Britain's general practitioners.

Fort Worth-based MP Materials has plans for a second, multi-billion-dollar manufacturing facility, possibly near Northlake, according to Seth Bodine at the Dallas Business Journal. MP produces rare earth magnets for EVs, defense and technology, and has strong support from deals with Apple, GM and the Department of Defense/War.  

Fort Worth-based Elbit America has completed its first Sigma NG 155-millimeter self-propelled howitzer prototype. The milestone positions Elbit for a bid in the U.S. Army's artillery modernization program. 

Six Flags Entertainment Corporation will not buy out the remaining partner interests in Six Flags Over Texas, a call option it had up to the December 31, 2025 deadline. It does not mean it won't eventually re-negotiate a deal, but said at this time the buyout was not in the company's best interests. 

Though he is the kingpin of NIL (Name Image & Likeness) giving, energy guy Cody Campbell, the chairman of the Texas Tech board of regents and the school’s No. 1 superfan, says college football is going to have a financial mess unless it does this one thing.

GameStop is closing up to 125 stores, though only 80 have been confirmed. On the non-confirmed list are stores in Mansfield and Saginaw.

The Texas Attorney General office secured a decision against Samsung, halting that company’s use of technology that allowed it to compile data on home-use television habits. Samsung is one of five major TV companies that was sued for the technology that captures screenshots of its TVs every 500 milliseconds without consent, flagrantly violating Texas law. 

Rotorcraft manufacturer Bell Helicopter is the first vendor to advance to the next stage of competition to provide a new helicopter trainer to the U.S. Army.

Blake's Beverage Company, makers of Blake's Hard Cider, Austin Eastciders, and AVID Cider, reached agreement with Fort Worth-based Ben E. Keith Beverages on a distribution partnership to grow its presence in Texas.

White Cap, a distributor of construction supplies and safety products, acquired Fort Worth-based VoidForm Products, a manufacturer of products designed to protect concrete structures from damage caused by expansive, corrosive and seismic soil conditions. VoidForm has six locations across Texas, Colorado, Mississippi and central Canada, and is a long-time vendor for White Cap.

A $9.7-billion deal announced in October between Occidental Petroleum and Berkshire Hathaway has been completed. Occidental sold its Dallas-based chemical division, OxyChem, and said proceeds would be used to reduce debt and focus on its core oil and gas business. Berkshire's energy group gains a leading chemicals producer used in everyday products.

A MESSAGE FROM DAVID LEWIS BUILDERr:

Say hello to the Equine Division of David Lewis Builder. For over four decades, we’ve been crafting luxury homes and ranches across Texas. Now, we’re bringing that same passion for quality and craftsmanship to the equine world—building barns, arenas, and facilities designed for horsemen who expect the best. Take a look at the details that set this build apart.

Irving-based Vistra Corp., the parent of TXU Energy, signed a definitive agreement to purchase Cogentrix Energy, adding 10 natural gas generation facilities with a total capacity of about 5,500 megawatts to its portfolio. These assets are held by funds managed by Quantum Capital Group. 

A ban on foreign drones, mostly from China, could have a huge impact on railroads. The Federal Communications Commission said the decision follows an Executive Branch inter-agency review that foreign-made drones and parts pose “unacceptable risks to the national security of the United States and to the safety and security of U.S. persons.”

FedEx disclosed another round of layoffs in north Texas, this time affecting 89 employees at an undisclosed facility in Fort Worth. Separations are scheduled to begin March 2.

Less than a year after opening its doors, the National Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington has been voted the Best New Museum in America by USA TODAY's 10 Best Readers' Choice Awards.

Frank Diaz Jr., who as a volunteer helped start Fort Worth’s Code Blue Citizens on Patrol and remained an organizer of his Crestwood neighborhood’s unit for 36 years, died Dec. 30 of complications from cancer.

Believe it or not: What in the name... A mother delivers a 13-pound baby boy at Arlington Memorial Hospital. Names him Canyon. The heaviest newborn to survive infancy is thought to be a 22-pound 8-ounce boy born in Aversa Italy in 1955. 

Daily digit: $300 million = What California Pizza Kitchen sold for in December, far less than the $470 million it sold for in 2011. Pizza restaurants are now outnumbered by coffee shops and Mexican-inspired eateries, with sales growth lagging behind the broader U.S. fast-food market.

Snippets:

• Fort Worth-founded PMG acquires London- and NYC-based Digital Voices platforms for creators. 

• The stock of Fort Worth-based First Cash hits an all-time high at 166.08. 

• Aldrich Ames, a one-time CIA officer convicted in 1994 of espionage on behalf of the Soviet Union, has died in prison at 84.

Announcements: 

• NanOlogy: Hires John M. Goldberg as fractional Chief Medical Officer to advance development of its Large Surface Area Microparticle drug portfolio.

• ENT: Hires Lan Pham to lead marketing efforts.

• Cantey Hanger: Promotes attorneys Tyler Craig, Fort Worth, and Cassandra Payton, Waxahachie/Ellis County, to Partner. Adds Jonathan Jordan to its IT department, and administrator Terra Smith.

• Kelly Hart: Promotes litigation attorney Joseph Austin to Partner. 

• JTaylor: Promotes Allison Hunt to Senior Associate. 

• Elevate: Promotes April Sealy to Chief Human Resources Officer.

• Bradford Commercial Real Estate Services: Adds Courtney Stanford as a Senior Vice President.

• Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board: Governor Greg Abbott appoints Darryl Heath of Colleyville and Colt McCoy of Aledo for terms set to expire August 31, 2031. The Board provides leadership and coordination for the Texas higher education system.

• Frost Bank: Hires David Castles as Relationship Banking Officer. 

• Privia Health: Promotes Jeanne Sajben Jenkins to Associate Vice President. 

• NewDay Services for Children and Families: Hires Christina Price as Director of Development.

• Gladden Longevity: Selects Kelli Calabrese as Chief Growth Officer.

• Civitas Senior Living: Names Cooper Vittitow President and CEO, succeeding co-founder Wayne Powell, who will become Chairman of the Board.

• Eric Brooks: Retires after architect career with GSBS and BOKA Powell.

• FunkyTown Food Project: Appoints Stacy Agee Martin as Development Director. 

• Twin Peaks Hospitality: Names Andy Wiederhorn Chief Executive Officer, replacing Kim Boerema. Roger Gondek, COO Twin Peaks Restaurant, will also assume the role of President of Twin Peaks Restaurant.

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