🏈TCU gets priceless gift; Koddi wins Kohl's retail commerce account; Will railway merger pressure BNSF to react?

Fort Worth-based agency Koddi, a pioneer in commerce media, has won the Kohl's retail media account, according to ADWEEK. Koddi is a privately held company founded by George Popstefanov and Nicholas Ward.

Union Pacific said it would buy smaller rival Norfolk Southern for $85 billion to create the first U.S. coast-to-coast freight rail operator. The deal is expected to take approximately 16 months for approval and no doubt will be opposed by unions. It also raises merger questions around CSX and Fort Worth-based BNSF Railway, whose owner, Berkshire Hathaway, denied a report it hired Goldman Sachs for a possible merger. 

NFL Hall of Fame running back LaDanian Tomlinson, an All-American at TCU, has donated his gold Hall of Fame jacket to the university. Tomlinson ran for 13,684 yards in an 11-year career that also included the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award.

Lockheed Martin has been awarded an additional $2+billion for modifications to a previously awarded U.S. Missile Defense Agency contract for the production of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense Interceptors. The value of the contract was increased from $8.35B to $10.42B.

The Department of Defense signed off on two contracts totaling $62 million with Lockheed Martin for work to be performed in Fort Worth.

Drivers traveling on a nearly mile-long section of SH 205 in Rockwall wouldn't notice anything unique about the asphalt, but what's underneath could change how roadways are built. The Texas Department of Transportation is testing an innovative, plastic-infused asphalt, thanks to engineers at UT-Arlington. The hope is to address two major problems: mounting plastic waste and failing infrastructure.

Grapevine-based GameStop has expanded its partnership with PSA to create a digital trading card platform that beta-launched yesterday. “Power Packs” allows collectors to purchase non-manufactured, curated digital packs that contain a PSA-graded trading card. 

Colleyville restaurant Chef Point Restaurant & Bar is getting the Guy Fieri treatment — again. It will be featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives Aug. 15. 

Alamo Beer Company in San Antonio launched its brand of beer that has been featured in the animated series "King of the Hill." It is officially licensed by Disney to use the likeness of Alamo Beer seen in the series. 

Fort Worth is launching a Small Business Development Program aimed at expanding opportunities for local entrepreneurs, particularly in procurement, certification and access to capital. The initiative is being done in concert with the Metropolitan Black, Hispanic and Fort Worth chambers. More details are here. 

Tesla and Samsung have agreed to a $16.5-billion chip deal primarily from Samsung's Taylor, Texas, facility. “Samsung’s giant new Texas fab will be dedicated to making Tesla’s next-generation AI6 chip,” Tesla's Elon Musk announced. "The strategic importance of this is hard to overstate.”

The 2026 Japan-Texas Economic Summit has selected Arlington and the Live! by Loews hotel for its May 11-13 meeting. See the topics here. 

LanCarte Commercial Real Estate announced completion of two industrial property transactions. In Weatherford, the firm represented both parties in the sale by Tri-County Electric Cooperative of a 100-acre industrial development at South Main Street and Old Airport Road. In Rhome, LanCarte represented the seller of 138 Leopard Road, a 150,000-square-foot industrial flex property.

What are the implications of Southlake-based Sabre Corporation's strategic partnership with Christopherson Business Travel on undervalued cloud and AI stocks? AI Invest takes a look.

Alphabet’s robotaxi unit Waymo plans to launch in Dallas in 2026. The company has partnered with Avis Budget Group to manage its autonomous fleet. Waymo has already been testing its self-driving Jaguar I-PACE electric vehicles in downtown Dallas. 

Southlake Mayor Shawn McCaskill said the city is planning for a public library that also will include a memorial for veterans.

The DallasNews board rejected Alden Global Capital's offer after its controlling shareholder made clear he intends to support a pending deal with Hearst.

Employees with the Tarrant County Department of Human Services were told they were losing their jobs, though county commissioners have not voted to eliminate the agency. The county says it was an accident, according to an email obtained by KERA News.

White Settlement ISD incoming seventh grader Melody Hinkle won the National Spanish Spelling Bee Championship. It took 24 rounds to eliminate the other 33 contestants. Her winning word: “Tácito,” and she said, “T-Á (con acento)-C-I-T-O.”

Houston-based Shipley Do-Nuts, with eight Tarrant locations, has been sold to California private equity firm Levine Leichtman Capital Partners. 

Tommy Smith, co-founder of the Fort Worth burger chain Tommy's Hamburgers, has passed away. Tommy worked his way through Texas Wesleyan before opening in a Lake Worth convenience store, according to Kelly Smith, the current owner of Tommy's and Smith's daughter. Kelly said the current three locations will remain open. 

Snippets:

• A portfolio of 119 J.C. Penney stores is slated to be sold for $947 million to a Boston private equity firm, roughly five years after the company filed for bankruptcy protection. 

• UT-Southwestern again leads north Texas in the annual U.S. News 2025-2026 rankings of best hospitals. See if your hospital made the list. 

• Texas lawmakers want to keep hemp out of the hands of kids. Educators don’t think it will work.

Daily digit: Adults aged 50 and older now make up 28% of all gamers in the U.S.

Believe it or not: $80 = Price of Marvel’s popcorn bucket for the new Fantastic Four movie. It set a Guinness World Record for the biggest and most expensive popcorn bucket. Good luck finding one; locations reportedly are sold out.

Announcements:

• Bell Nunnally & Martin: Adds attorney Cheryl Leb as a Partner. 

• Crescent Real Estate: Hires Troy Furbay as Managing Director of Hospitality.

• YMCA of Fort Worth: Hires Jacob Meeks as Director of Impact Funding.

• Valor: Appoints Garrett Merket as Senior Landman/Sales Representative.

• Freese and Nichols: Adds Kurt J. Schulte to its transportation planning team. 

• Supreme Lending: Hires Charri Albrecht as Branch Senior Operations Manager. Adds Nishant Kumar as Loan Officer.

• Fort Worth Public Library Foundation: Adds Kelly Hart attorney Robbie Clarke to its Board of Directors.

• TForce Freight: Hires Derek Newman as Assistant Terminal Manager.

• Sundt Construction: Names Kevin Graf Vice President and Texas Regional Manager for the Transportation Group. 

• TCU: Hires Kyle Neaves as Sr. Associate Athletic Director for Strategic Communications.

• Orsinger, Nelson, Downing & Anderson:  Adds attorney Frances Seman.

• Keller ISD: Finalizes hire of hire Cory Wilson as Superintendent.

• BMO Commercial Bank: Names Nick Salomon as Head, Texas Commercial Banking.

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