According to bankruptcy court documents, Comtel will take over the Carrollton-based VarTec May 22 or shortly thereafter. VarTec, which filed bankruptcy in November 2004, was made up of VarTec Telecommunications Inc., Excel Telecommunications Inc. and VarTec Solutions Inc. Comtel is owned by Sowood Commodity Partners Fund, which is managed by Boston-based Sowood Capital Management.

The "new" news behind the takeover is Waterway Tower at 433 E. Las Colinas Blvd. gets the headquarters. The managing partners, coming in from California, have inked a stair-stepped lease for five full floors, including the penthouse, and a 1,530-sf spot at street level. "Everyone was focused," Brandon Henry, senior associate with Stream Realty Partners LP in Dallas, stresses to GlobeSt.com. "It came together in just under a month. The stars were aligned."

The alignment, though, was aided by a last-minute change when a deal cratered for a Dallas North Tollway high rise. Henry and Stream's managing director and partner Ben Sumner say all that it took to swing the deal their way was the managing partners' first tour of Waterway.