🍯Tarrant attracts Australian, Belgium firms; GM commits Arlington to gas...bye Escalade; Zuckerberg passed as 2nd richest person.

Today’s issue presented by:

In June, Jerry St. Peter was hired as CEO of Melbourne, Australia bio-pharmaceutical company PolyActiva. In 2020, St. Peter had sold his Fort Worth-based Eyevance Pharmaceuticals to a Japanese company for $225 million. Now he and his former team are helping PolyActiva pursue its global goals from an office in Fort Worth as it begins Phase 2b clinical trials of its lead glaucoma drug in the U.S.

Ackerman & Co, in partnership with Belgium-based Batisse, has purchased Midway Business Park, a 12-building, 258,846-square-foot industrial portfolio in Richland Hills from Cohen Asset Management for an undisclosed price. The portfolio is 91 percent leased.

GM’s $4 billion expansion plan based on producing more gas trucks and SUVs includes Cadillac Escalade production leaving Arlington in 2027.  Production of the Chevrolet Suburban and Tahoe and the GMC Yukon will remain in Arlington. The Arlington plant has more than 5,000 employees. 

Fort Worth-based Novaria Group, a manufacturer of specialty components and hardware for the aerospace and defense industries, has acquired Precision Aero Corp, which is headquartered in Troy, Ohio. PAC is a manufacturer of fusible plugs and specialty aftermarket components for safety-critical aerospace applications. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

PE firm Evolution Strategy Partners has associated with Fort Worth-based The Fain Group, a prime contractor specializing in public infrastructure and beautification projects throughout Texas. In 40+ years, Fain has delivered more than 400 successful projects, including parks, trails, streetscapes and aquatic centers. Larry Frazier, who founded Fain, will remain President and retain a meaningful ownership stake.

Just in time for triple digit temperatures, the new Splash Island is open at Six Flags Hurricane Harbor. The 58,000-square-foot family water playground features 17 slides and more than 100 interactive water features.

The Federal Trade Commission reversed course and set aside orders barring Hess CEO John Hess from joining Chevron's board and former Pioneer Natural Resources CEO Scott Sheffield from joining Exxon Mobil's board.

Significant stat: $251 billion = Oracle founder Larry Ellison’s net worth, overtaking Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg as the second-richest person in the world. Elon Musk is still the world’s richest person, with a net worth of $357.8 billion.

According to an analysis by dog training app Woofz, Google searches for “adopt a dog near me” increased by 513% after the premiere weekend of Superman. David Corenswet stars in the movie but the real star is Krypto, his foster dog.

One Trick Pony Pizza Tavern, a venture from Travis and Emma Heim, founders of Heim Barbecue, is coming to 313 S. Main in Fort Worth. The couple turned over operations of Heim to their partner Will Churchill in February 2024 so they could focus on their family.

Dallas-based pizza restaurant Partenope will open a Fort Worth location at 2949 Crockett Street in Artisan Circle. The location most recently was home to Si Tapas Spanish restaurant. Known for its Neapolitan pizzas and southern Italian fare, Partenope has frequently been ranked as a top 25 pizzeria in America. See menu here.

Fort Worth's Zoning Commission approved Walmart's request for Zipline drone deliveries from its store off 287 at Renaissance Square. The $750,000 Renaissance Square project is planned for debut as early as late July.

‘Turn the sorrow into some bright light’: Pat Green holds streaming concert for Texas flood victims and raises more than $1 million. 

Fort Worth-based engineer Charles Wilson recently flagged a “mind-blowing robotics trend” on LinkedIn after spotting new research from Columbia University: modular bots that can reconfigure themselves—and even “eat” each other to grow stronger and heal on the fly. He issued a challenge to fellow engineers. 

AI is ok, but artificial colors in food products are not, according to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. His team is investigating Mars, which makes M&M’s and Skittles. During 2016, Mars pledged to “remove all artificial colors from its human food products.” Since then, it chose only to remove the toxic dyes from products sold in Europe. 

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The New York Times reported Canadian retailer Couche-Tard has scrapped its $47B bid for 7-Eleven parent Seven & i. The failed deal also casts doubt on 7-Eleven’s U.S. IPO.

Roger Waters, co-founder of Pink Floyd, is facing possible prosecution and a 10-year sentence after pledging support for Palestine Action, a group that has been deemed a terrorist organization by the United Kingdom.

Near Southside leaders, Fort Worth Councilwoman Elizabeth Beck and The United Way of Tarrant County distributed $100K to the 800 displaced victims of The Cooper apartment fire.

The newest Fort Worth Public Library will be in far northwest Fort Worth off Avondale/Haslet Road. Community members may recommend a name; after reviewing nominations, five names will go back out to the public for a final vote beginning Aug. 22. 

Believe it or not: Researchers in Japan say they have set a world record for the fastest internet speed, transmitting more than 125,000 gigabytes of data per second over 1,120 miles. That's about four million times the average internet speed in the U.S. and would allow you to download the entire Internet Archive in fewer than four minutes, according to estimates. 

Announcements:

• Texas Wesleyan University: Hires Lauren Findley as Executive Director of Enrollment.

• Paslay Group: Hires Theodore "Ted" Kitchens as an Engagement Executive.

• Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport: Names Christopher Ash President of Alliance Aviation.

• Visit Fort Worth: Hires Georgia Cartwright as Trail Boss of the Fort Worth Herd.

• Bonds Ellis Eppich Schafer Jones: Adds attorney Elliott Garsek, founding partner of Barlow Garsek & Simon, to the firm. 

• Kroger: Names Rudy DiPietro President of its newly formed Texas Division, eliminates separate area Presidents.

• Trinity Bank: Hires Todd Crookshank as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.

• M. Gale: Names Barbara Shelton a Senior Advisor.

• Higginbotham: Hires Andrew Reutter as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer. 

• Supreme Lending: Adds Jenny Detweiler as a Producing Branch Manager.

• Children's Advocacy Center for North Texas: Hires Jeannine Vargas-Jaure as Events and Community Engagement Manager. 

• UNT Health Fort Worth: Re-brands by eliminating Science Center to emphasize the university system, healthcare and ties to Fort Worth.

• TCU AddRan College of Liberal Arts: Adds Duane Morris Partner John Polzer to its board of visitors.

• Dynamic Development Strategies: Adds Benjamin Robertson of TEI Consulting as fractional Chief Operating Officer.

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