You're reading the Texas Edition newsletter.
You're reading the Texas Edition newsletter.
You're reading the Texas Edition newsletter.
Bloomberg's Texas bureau chief Julie Fine shares her insights on the companies and people powering America's second-largest economy.
Bloomberg's Texas bureau chief Julie Fine shares her insights on the companies and people powering America's second-largest economy.
Bloomberg's Texas bureau chief Julie Fine shares her insights on the companies and people powering America's second-largest economy.
Welcome to Bloomberg's Texas Edition -- covering all the industries and people driving America's second-largest economy, from finance and oil to tech and sports. Join us each week for an inside look at Texas through a Bloomberg lens. Sign up here if you're not already on the list.
Stop me if you've heard this before (actually, please keep reading): A Wall Street giant is looking at Texas as an expansion candidate.
Texas and Florida are on the short list for a possible second headquarters for New York-based Apollo Global Management. "We've shared with our teams across Apollo and Athene that we plan to establish a second headquarters in either Texas or South Florida, alongside NYC," an Apollo spokesperson told Bloomberg after the Financial Times reported the plans.
The FT identified Austin as a candidate, and also said Nashville was under consideration. Apollo President Jim Zelter declined to say which way Apollo was leaning, telling Bloomberg Surveillance on Thursday: "We will see what the process leads us to."
Big finance continues to make big moves in the state. Goldman Sachs' new $500 million downtown Dallas building will have room for more than 5,000 employees, easily encompassing the 4,500 current employees in the area. Charles Schwab moved its headquarters to Westlake in 2021. JPMorgan has more than 30,000 employees in Texas -- more than in New York.
"Dallas and Texas as a whole is becoming a financial hub for the country," said John Steinmetz, the National Bank Holdings executive vice chair, who came by the Bloomberg Dallas office this week with CEO Tim Laney.
I asked Laney about whether Texas or Florida -- both of which are home to National Banks Holdings outlets -- would have an advantage in wooing Apollo. "I have no idea," he said with a smile. "But I appreciate the question."
The Fine Line
Laney, Steinmetz and I talked about a lot more than Apollo. Colorado-based National Bank Holdings closed earlier this year on the buyout of Vista, where Steinmetz was CEO.
"Our cultures match. We love what's happening in the state of Texas," Laney said in the interview.
Steinmetz had considered an IPO as well for Vista. The two companies began exploring a deal more than four years ago and found the time was finally right.
"This just made a lot of sense and was a great option for all of our stakeholders," said Steinmetz.
With Bloomberg scooping the news last week that Citigroup executives are considering whether to buy another bank -- specifically, a major regional lender -- I asked whether more M&A is in the future as National Bank Holdings' profile rises. Taking over Vista created a company with more than $12 billion of assets.
"From day one, we have believed in optionality, and we will continue to have conversations," Laney said.
Regional Roundup
Capital, Code & Crude
Sysco shareholders gulped after the Houston-based supplier of food to commercial kitchens agreed to a $29.1 billion buyout of closely held Jetro Restaurant Depot. The stock tumbled the most since the onset of the pandemic in 2020. The deal was Texas-sized, with Sysco taking on $21 billion of new and hybrid debt to fund the cash-and-stock transaction. As Bloomberg colleagues Deirdre Hipwell and Janet Freund describe it, New York-based Jetro functions as a sort of Costco-style business for smaller restaurant owners and operators. And while it may not be a household name, it's plenty large. Revenue was $16 billion last year.
And speaking of M&A -- and Texas sports ...
The man credited with popularizing the catchphrase "Mavs Fan for Life" is having second thoughts about a crucial decision in unloading his controlling stake in the team in 2023. "I don't regret selling, I regret who I sold to," Mark Cuban said on the Intersections podcast, referring to the Dallas Mavericks' new owners, the family of casino magnate Miriam Adelson. It's been a rocky few years since Cuban's exit. The Mavs made the NBA Finals the following year, then traded Luka Doncic and slumped to become one of the league's worst teams. Cuban, the billionaire famed for his courtside passion as a T-shirt-wearing owner, told the podcast: "I made a lot of mistakes in the process, and I'll leave it at that."
There's more hoops news: The family of billionaire Tilman Fertitta is buying the WNBA's Connecticut Sun from the Mohegan tribe and moving the team to Houston for the 2027 season. The deal expands the reach of Fertitta Entertainment, which owns the NBA’s Houston Rockets, pending WNBA approval. Bloomberg reported that the sale is for $300 million. And it includes renaming the Sun as the Houston Comets—a nod to the onetime WNBA dynasty that won the league’s first four titles before folding in 2008. The team will play in Connecticut this season and has a ways to go to match the Comets of old; the Sun had the WNBA’s third-worst record last year.
Opinion
Dave Lee examined the FCC's surprise decision to ban imports of foreign-made home routers. It's a worthy aim, he wrote, but he found a sobering Texas example of collateral damage from these shock declarations. Lee explored the case of Manchaca-based drone maker Verge Aero, which was whipsawed when the same agency abruptly barred foreign-made drones in December. Verge was suddenly forced to source products closer to home, a tough challenge in a market dominated by China. "I've been wanting to do this since I started the company," CEO Anthony Merlino said. But if shunning foreign drones and routers is supposed to be a carrot and stick for US manufacturers, Lee wrote, it's hard to find the carrot.
The Big Number
1
After two weekends of March Madness, the UT women's basketball team is the only Texas squad still playing as we head into the men's and women's Final Four showdowns. The Longhorns face UCLA Friday night in Phoenix. The women's championship game is Sunday.
Totally Texas
Texas Edition is now 6 months old. From the terminal users who messaged when I said I was a Grateful Dead fan to the readers who have suggested Fine Line candidates -- thank you.
I didn't know what to expect when we started this journey and it has been such a rewarding one.
Texas Edition is a team sport. There's a great group behind this newsletter, and a big thank you to them too.