12:00 AM CST on Thursday, December 1, 2005

Wells Fargo has opted not to press troubled Pizza Inn Inc. for immediate repayment of a loan but has limited the amount the restaurant chain can have outstanding, the company said Wednesday.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Pizza Inn said Wells Fargo will continue to make revolving credit loans as long as the total principal is not more than $3 million at any time.

Pizza Inn, based in The Colony, said in October that it was in default on a $6 million revolving credit facility with Wells Fargo, due in part to the impact of the Gulf Coast storms.

Pizza Inn shares closed unchanged at $2.65.

Hallmark Financial Services Inc. of Fort Worth, a property and casualty insurance company, has agreed to acquire Pan American Acceptance Corp. for $725,000. According to a filing Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Hallmark expects the acquisition to close Jan. 1.

Pan American Acceptance finances premiums on insurance marketed by Texas General and TGA Special Risk, two affiliated entities.

Hallmark shares closed at $1.24, down 2 cents.

Mergers and acquisitions in the energy industry should increase next year as independent producers scout for ways to invest their cash, Pricewaterhouse Coopers said Wednesday.

The consultants said in a forecast Wednesday that as commodity prices settle and producers begin drilling higher-risk projects, "consolidation will accelerate because of the need for larger balance sheets to reduce those risks."

On Wednesday, independent Fort Worth producer Cano Petroleum said that it bought WO Energy of Pampa for $55.2 million, increasing Cano's proven reserves sevenfold.

Cano shares rose 46 cents, or 9.7 percent, to $5.22.

A California cheese company plans to build a production plant in the Panhandle town of Dalhart, bringing thousands of jobs to the region.

The Hilmar Cheese Co. factory will receive a $5 million grant from the Amarillo Economic Development Corp., $7.5 million from the Texas Enterprise Fund and additional funding for transportation improvements and workforce training.

The contract between the enterprise fund and Hilmar guarantees about 2,000 new jobs over the next 10 years, said Kathy Walt, a spokeswoman for Gov. Rick Perry.

Dalhart is about 65 miles northeast of Amarillo and has a population of about 7,000.

• Irving-based Kimberly-Clark Corp. said Wednesday that Dudley Lehman, group president of the company's Business-to-Business Group, plans to retire in 2006 after 30 years at the consumer products giant.

• The Independent Pilots Association said UPS pilots plan to hold an "informational picket" Thursday outside the UPS Store on Greenville Avenue in Dallas.

• Dallas-based chemical maker Celanese Corp. said Wednesday that it is extending until Feb. 1 its tender offer for shares of Celanese AG, its indirect German subsidiary. Celanese said in August that it had agreed to raise its stake in the subsidiary.

Contributing: Associated Press; Dow Jones Newswires; and staff writers Elizabeth Souder, Sudeep Reddy, Karen Robinson-Jacobs and Katherine Yung