According to bankruptcy court documents, Comtel will take overthe Carrollton-based VarTec May 22 or shortly thereafter. VarTec,which filed bankruptcy in November 2004, was made up of VarTecTelecommunications Inc., Excel Telecommunications Inc. and VarTecSolutions 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 forfive full floors, including the penthouse, and a 1,530-sf spot atstreet level. "Everyone was focused," Brandon Henry, seniorassociate with Stream Realty Partners LP in Dallas, stresses toGlobeSt.com. "It came together in just under a month. The starswere aligned."

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