Infinity Cross Border Acquisitions Corp. (Nasdaq: INXB) and Glori Energy Inc. are merging in a deal valued at about $185 million.

Infinity, headquartered in New York, is a special purpose acquisition company. Houston-based Glori is an oil technology company that aims to access oil that remains trapped underground.

After the merger closes, the combined company will take Glori’s name, and is expected to be listed on the Nasdaq exchange with the ticker symbol GLRI.

Infinity is sponsored by Infinity Group, an $800 million private equity fund, and an affiliate of Hick’s Equity Partners LLC, the private equity investment vehicle of the Thomas Hicks family. In connection with the deal, Inifity, Hicks and other investors have agreed to buy between $8.5 million and $25 million in Infinity common stock.

Glori will use money from the deal to acquire oil-producing assets. 

The transaction comes during a wave of M&A activity among energy or energy-related companies. Recent deals include Fieldwood Energy LLC’s acquisition of SandRdige Energy Inc.’s (NYSE: SD) Gulf of Mexico and Gulf Coast business unit, and Ergon Inc.’s acquisition of an oil pipeline in Texas. 

For more on the energy sector, see "Six Sizzling Sectors: Energy."