D CEO and the Association for Corporate Growth-DFW are proud to announce the top acquisitions, dispositions, and other financial transactions in North Texas in 2023—and the dealmakers who made them happen. It’s all part of our 11th annual Mergers & Acquisitions Awards program, which honors individual achievements and notable M&A deals that closed last year.
All finalists will be featured in the May issue of D CEO magazine and honored at a private awards ceremony this spring.
New this year, the program’s top individual honor, the Legacy Award, will go to Tony Banks of RSM, who joined the firm in February 2024. Prior to becoming a director with RSM, he served in the same capacity with Grant Thornton’s Dallas office since 2017. The 25-year veteran in private equity and M&A specializes in deals in manufacturing, energy, technology, and healthcare.
Finalists: Dealmakers of the Year
Attorney of the Year
Abby Branigan, Vinson & Elkins
Jon Finger, McGuireWoods
Richard Frye, Weil, Gotshal & Manges
William Howell, Sidley Austin
Robert Little, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
Debt Provider of the Year
Courtney Lewis, Cadence Bank
Rob Swift, Woodforest National Bank
Chase Wildes, Sunflower Bank
Due Diligence Professional of the Year
Duke Deen, Whitley Penn
Dane Harris, Bennett Thrasher
Brad Porter, Moss Adams
Mary Cathryn Rau, IMA Financial Group
Eric Young, Grant Thornton
Emerging Leader of the Year
Emily Ackerman, Bennett Thrasher
Gage Dutkin, TKV-6 Strategies
Logan Fahey, Graze Robotics
Luke Lechler, Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr
Wes Romanowski, Pinecrest Capital Partners
Investment Banker of the Year
Jared Behnke, Transitus Capital
Simon Martin, Hext Capital Partners
Jon Mueller, Exit Partners
Robert Rough, Telos Capital Advisors
Daniel Vermeire, Corporate Finance Associates
Private Equity Professional of the Year (Family Office/Independent Sponsor)
Tanvir Arfi, Banyan Technologies Group
Tom Beauchamp, Surge Private Equity
Shaun Gordon, Astria Group
Patrick Hamner, Clavis Capital Partners
Joseph D. O’Brien III, A.G. Hill Partners
Teddy Saltzstein, Six Pillars Partners
Private Equity Professional of the Year (Managed Fund)
Michael Bertrand, Crossplane Capital
Robert Covington, Braemont Capital
Kelly Ann Winget, Alternative Wealth Partners
Finalists: Deals of the Year
$1 Billion +
Aligned Data Centers acquisition of ODATA
Avantax’s $1.2 billion take-private sale to Cetera
Bain Capital buys Brazilian steakhouse chain Fogo de Chão in $1.1 billion deal
Gigapower joint Venture between AT&T and BlackRock
$250–999 Million
Rio Tinto acquires a 50 percent equity stake in Giampaolo Group’s wholly-owned Matalco business for $720 million
Kainos Capital acquisition of Evriholder Products
Park Cities Asset Management’s take-private acquisition of Elevate Credit
$50–249 Million
IKS Health’s acquisition of AQuity Solutions
Incline P&C Group announces growth equity investment from Braemont Capital
Medical City Healthcare’s acquisition of Wise Health System
PFSweb acquired by GXO Logistics
Transition Capital Partners’ acquisition of Texwin Metal Buildings
Under $50 Million
Banyan acquires Competition Specialties
brittle-brittle acquired by Azalea Capital
Fieldware’s acquisition of Uptrust and Orion Communications
Marco 4M Auto Parts acquires Texas Assets from IEH Auto Parts Holdings
MB2 Dental national network expansion
Pattison Sign Group acquires Chandler Signs
Surge Amuze Holdings acquires Pipeline Games
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