🌎MP, HydroProMag strike rare earth deals; Arlington family office in $10B merger; Parade of Lights is delayed.

Fort Worth-based MP Materials, the Department of Defense and Saudi mining company Maaden signed a binding agreement to develop a rare earth refinery in the Kingdom. MP and the Pentagon will hold a 49% stake in the joint venture. MP's stock price was up 8.61% on the news.

HyProMag USA, its facility based in Fort Worth, has broadened its feedstock supply agreement with Intelligent Lifecycle Solutions to secure a wider range of rare earth magnet materials. HyProMag USA will receive not only magnets recovered from hard disk drives, but also from electric motors, wind turbines and other end-of-life technologies — significantly increasing the volume of recyclable material available.

The GM Financial Parade of Lights in downtown Fort Worth, originally scheduled for Sunday, has been postponed one week to Sunday, November 30, at 6 p.m., because of heavy rain and storms forecast this Sunday. One advantage is not competing with a Dallas Cowboys game, which is Thursday, Thanksgiving Day. 

Arlington-based IWP Family Office and Matter Family Office are merging to form an integrated firm focused on ultra-high-net-worth, multi-generational families. The merger includes more than 90 professionals across three locations: St. Louis, Denver and Dallas-Fort Worth. Assets under advisement are more than $10 billion for 140+ families.

Arlington-based D.R. Horton, the largest homebuilder in the U.S., has partnered with Prophetic, an AI startup based in Oregon, to improve how it evaluates land for new housing developments. Prophetic’s zoning platform takes on the task of interpreting local zoning laws and automates it in a matter of seconds.

Teamsters Local 767 in Forest Hill voted 93-7 percent to ratify a new agreement with Refresco. The 135 members at the beverage company work in machine operations, forklift operations, batching tech, quality assurance, shipping and receiving, sanitation and maintenance.

The Texas Attorney General office secured a $41.5-million settlement with Pfizer and Tris Pharma for allegedly providing adulterated pharmaceutical drugs to Texas children in violation of the Texas Health Care Program Fraud Prevention Act. 

The Texas Attorney General office filed suit against pharmaceutical companies Sanofi and Bristol-Myers Squibb for failing to disclose that their drug Plavix did not work effectively for certain patients.

Lockheed Martin and Germany-based Diehl Defence have reached a memorandum of understanding to study how Diehl’s IRIS-T missile family could be integrated into key Lockheed Martin systems, including the Aegis Weapon System and the MK 41 and MK 70 vertical launchers. 

Bezos is back: Amazon.com and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos is back as a co-CEO of AI startup Project Prometheus, according to the Puget Sound Business Journal. It's the first formal executive role since he last was CEO of Amazon in July 2021. Project Prometheus, with $6.2 billion raised, will focus on building "AI for the physical economy," the company said on LinkedIn.

Verizon is planning to eliminate approximately 15,000 roles as incoming CEO Dan Schulman advances a restructuring plan that he has described internally as a “cost transformation.” The reduction would be about 15% of the employee base.

A MESSAGE FROM BURT LADNER REAL ESTATE:

This remodeled 3-bedroom, 3-bath residence at 4321 Selkirk Dr W has an open-concept kitchen and multiple living areas. The private backyard has a pool, shaded living area and built-in grill station. Covered parking with additional storage is included with this updated property. Every detail reflects quality, comfort and modern style. Offered at $770,000 by Jennifer Cohn. (Open house: Sun., 11/23, 1-3 pm)

Two Fort Worth companies were among the 2025 Deloitte Technology Fast 500 List. No. 296 is Sanara MedTech, led by CEO Ron Nixon and posting 259% growth. Sanara is a medical company developing and commercializing technologies to improve clinical outcomes and reduce healthcare expenditures in the surgical, chronic wound and skincare markets. No. 332 is Valor, led by co-founder and CEO Joseph DeWoody and posting 225% growth, Valor is a tech-enabled professional services company that provides oil and gas asset management for mineral rights owners, operators and investors.

Two D-FW area Hawaiian Falls Waterparks are about to get major makeovers, courtesy of owner Ripley’s Believe It or Not! World Entertainment. Including work on its Waco park, Ripley's said it would be spending more than $1 million to elevate guest experiences.

Pepsi Prebiotic Cola will launch online during Black Friday before rolling out in 2026. With "flavor and functional health benefits," the introduction follows the company's $1.95-billion acquisition of Poppi, an independent prebiotic soda company. Original and Cherry Vanilla flavors are available.

The 2020 death of a newborn in the Tarrant County jail is the lead of an investigative report by Bloomberg Law and NBC News titled: Pregnancy behind bars proves deadly for women and their babies.

Keller approved an indoor entertainment playground, Stay N' Play, for children ages six and under. The facility will have play structures and interactive zones for children and seating areas for parents.

The Arlington Planning and Zoning Commission approved an affordable cottage community with eight townhomes that supporters said will provide workforce housing in the southeast Arlington area.

Can an electric vehicle power your home? The answer can be a bit confusing: It’s either a yes, with a but – or a no, with an unless. Read here to find out which EVs offer vehicle-to-home tech to keep the lights on or to lower your energy bills.

Felix Ojo, a Mansfield Lake Ridge High School offensive lineman, agreed to a three-year contract with Texas Tech that could be worth up to $5.1 million. 

Significant stat: 42.6% = the overall donor retention rate, a 4.1% decrease compared to the previous year, according to a Q2 2024 report from the Association of Fundraising Professioinals.

Snippets:

• The downtown Dallas Neiman Marcus will stay open at least through the holiday season.

• Tarrant County College has received $225,000 from two aviation companies for programming to produce workers for the future. 

• German operator Heli Transair has signed an agreement to add three Bell 505s, which would give it five total. 

Announcements: 

• Longhorn Council of Scouting America: Selects Katie Farmer, TCU grad and the first woman to head a Class I railroad as President and CEO of BNSF Railway, as its Distinguished Citizen for 2025.

• Tarrant To & Through Partnership: Adds Nathaniel G. Aranda, CFRE, as Managing Director of Development.

• The Five Star Institute/MortgagePoint Magazine: Hires Lance Murray as Senior Editor. 

• American Nursing Credentialing Center: Recognizes Cook Children’s Medical Center - Fort Worth with its fifth consecutive Magnet designation. This one was a Magnet with Distinction for exceeding benchmarks. Fewer than five children’s hospitals in the world have received the recognition five consecutive times.

• Business Insurance: Names Sarah Scott, Executive Vice President of Product and Corporate Services at CorVel Corporation, as a member of its “Women to Watch” list for 2025.

• Trademark Property Co.: Names Scott Elrod Chief Financial Officer, Erick Klafter Senior Vice President of Property and Asset Management, and Haas Sulheri Director of Construction. 

• Goodwill North Central Texas: Promotes DeAndre’ Johnson to Director of Workforce Development, Opportunity Accelerator.

• Webb CFO: Adds Shea Pulaski as staff accountant.

• Park Place dealerships: Its philanthropic arm -- the Season of Giving program -- provides one-time grants ranging from $2,500 to $10,000. Three Fort Worth companies were honored.

• Welman Project: Will move to the historic Kimbell Milling Company building at 2109 S. Main St.

• FIFA World Cup Draw Party: Announces ticket information for Dec. 5  11 a.m. event at Billy Bob's Texas.

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