Iwerks Entertainment Sold to SimEx Inc. Iwerks Entertainment Inc. of Burbank and SimEx Inc. have signed an agreement and plan of merger. The agreement provides that SimEx will acquire Iwerks in exchange for cash, approximately 63 cents per share of Iwerks common stock. The transaction is subject to shareholder approval and other customary closing conditions. If the two companies combine, it is expected that Iwerks will retain its brand name and identity and will continue operations in Burbank under the existing Iwerks management team. Iwerks Entertainment Inc., founded in 1986, provides 8/70 Large Format Theater systems worldwide and ride simulators. SimEx builds turnkey special venue attractions that feature film or digital projection, simulation technology and themed environments. Horizon Bank Begins Stock Offering A new bank to be based in Encino has announced an offering of 700,000 to 800,000 shares of its common stock at $10 per share. Horizon Bank, a recently incorporated independent bank, will concentrate on local business as well as the independent community pharmacy industry. Subscribers will receive one warrant for each five shares of common stock purchased. Martin M. Cooper is chairman of the Horizon Bank board; David M. Breslow is vice chairman; and C. Ellis Porter president and CEO. Other directors of the bank are: Douglas D. Bernards, Larry Cohen, John A. Cronin, Mohammed (Bill) Eletreby, Kirk M. Hayes, Joel Hoffman, Louis Krokover and Albert M. Lapides. Need2Buy Named ‘Best of Web’ Need2Buy Inc. has been named by Forbes magazine as a “Best of the Web” business-to-business company. Need2Buy is profiled in the fall 2001 edition of Forbes ASAP, which features the “most promising” Internet-enabled businesses as selected by the editors. The publication singled out Need2Buy for its collaborative design and supply-chain collaboration solutions. It also cited Need2Buy’s capabilities for enabling electronics manufacturers to manage component inventory and locate hard-to-find parts. Since launching its open online marketplace for the electronics industry in May 1999, Need2Buy has attracted a user base of original-equipment manufacturers, contract manufacturers and franchised distributors. Vitesse Warns of Impending Losses Vitesse Semiconductor Corp., which makes chips for fiber-optic networking equipment, said its fiscal fourth-quarter loss will be greater than expected because of continuing slow sales. The Camarillo-based company said it now expects a pro forma loss of 12 cents to 15 cents a share for the quarter ending this month. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial/ First Call had forecast a 9-cent loss. Sales will be $37 million to $40 million, compared with a previous forecast of $50 million. Moorpark Melodrama Sold Thousand Oaks developer Larry Janss has purchased the historic Melodrama Theater in Moorpark, with plans to renovate it and begin showing first-run movies and plays by April. Janss paid $275,000 for the 73-year-old playhouse on High Street and expects to spend $500,000 more on renovations. In the late 1800s, Larry Janss’ great-grandfather, Peter Janss, bought 3,000 acres in what is now the west side of Los Angeles and, in the early part of the last century, his grandfather, Edwin Janss, donated 600 acres to build UCLA. The remaining land became what is now known as Westwood. Larry Janss, president of the Lawrence Janss Co. and chairman of the Gold Coast Performing Arts Assn., produced a series of documentaries in the 1970s, winning an Emmy for “Paul Jacobs and the Nuclear Gang.” He developed Gold Coast Plaza and Janss Village in Thousand Oaks. His family developed the Janss Marketplace. The Melodrama, built in 1928, was owned by Linda and Harvey Bredemann of Moorpark from 1986 to 1999, when it closed after Linda Bredemann filed for bankruptcy. American Commercial Bank, which originally was asking $600,000 for the theater, sold it to Janss. Attack Impacts Entertainment Industry The immediate paralysis caused by last week’s terrorist acts has given way to a flurry of entertainment-related postponements and cancellations that promise to have a negative short-term impact on Hollywood. But the larger question of how the industry emerges from these unprecedented events will depend on consumer behavior in the months ahead. “There’s no particular or unique impact on the entertainment industry beyond what any other industry is dealing with,” said Ron Silverman, managing director of the Los Angeles office of Gerard Klauer Mattison & Co. “In the long run, it depends how enthusiastically people will attend entertainment centered venues like amusement parks and theaters where large crowds of people congregate,” he said. The struggling exhibition industry also has much to lose if people stay away out of fear or ambivalence. “The economics of the industry don’t change much unless the consumer is very rattled,” said Lee Westerfield, a broadcast analyst with UBS Warburg. “The financial markets bow but they don’t break with this type of an event.”