Antik Denim goes public after seeing true religion's success.

MANUFACTURER Antik Denim LLC wants to capitalize on the celebrity-driven jeans craze by going public in a reverse merger.

As part of the deal, Paul Guez, chief executiveof Commerce-based Antik, will take over majority control of Florida-based Marine Jet Technology Corp., a publicly traded shell company. The process is generally considered a quicker and cheaper way of going public than filing an initial public offering.

"I always wanted to be public because it will make everything much easier for growth," said Guez. He expected the merger to close at the end of April, when he will have just over a 72 percent stake in the company, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Guez projects that Antik's revenues could reach $30 million this year. From September 2004, when the company was founded, to Dec. 31, 2004, Antik had sales of $365,000, the filing said.

Marine Jet, which is listed on the Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board, was trading at around 50 cents per share late April, up from 4 cents per share in January this year.

Antik's reverse merger follows the route that True Religion Apparel Inc. took when the Los Angeles-based jeans manufacturer merged with Gusana Explorations Inc. True Religion's stock started trading at around $1 per share in 2003 and jumped to $14 per share in late April.

"They did an unbelievable job at it, and we hope to do the same thing," said Guez, speaking of True Religion. The two companies sell expensive jeans that can cost upward of $300 at specialty retailers and department stores such as Neiman Marcus.

Antik is only one of several denim companies that Guez runs under the umbrella Blue Concepts Inc. Guez said he has no plans for public trading of the other companies, which include Yanuk and Taverniti.

'Green' Highlanders

Hybrid fever has swept Southern California, with locals gobbling up Toyota Highlander hybrids before the SUVs hit the lots and snatching up Priuses at faster rates than ever.

About 1,200 new hybrid Highlanders are expected to arrive in the area's 73 Toyota dealerships over the next six months. Those vehicles aren't for sale--they're already sold.

"If you weren't on a waiting list six months ago, you will never see a car," said Ed Wissing, general sales manager at Bob Smith Toyota in La Crescenta, referring to the hybrid Highlander. "People will fight for them."

The hybrid rage made Angelenos the top consumers of the low-pollution vehicle last year when nearly 10,400 registered in the city, up 102 percent from 2003, according to R.L. Polk and Co.

Bay Area residents were next, with just over 8,000 last year, an increase of 94 percent from the prior year.

Toyota built 64 percent of all hybrids bought last year, while Honda, primarily with its Civic hybrid, made 33 percent. The Ford Escape captured the remaining 3 percent of the market, while the new Honda Accord hybrid was only recently released.

Wissing said that the rush for the new Highlander is greater than that for any other vehicle he can remember. Compared to the Prius, which first landed at local lots in 2001, the interest is "night and day," he said.

"We had cars in inventory on the ground available for sale," he said, remembering the Prius' arrival. "As far as the Highlander goes, the market has already been opened up, and fuel costs are higher."

But the Priuses are holding their own against the Highlander, which can cost around $30,000, or $10,000 more than the hybrid sedan. Local dealerships get about 20 of the second-generation Priuses per month, double what they were receiving a year ago, and are pro-selling an estimated 75 percent of the cars.

Because of high gas prices, dealers said the market for hybrids has expanded from a niche occupied by environmentally conscious buyers to the general public. The Highlander is rated to get up to 33 miles per gallon.

"When they first came out, a lot of people were looking at it more because it was a green car," said Art Manjarrez, an Internet salesman at Miller Toyota in Culver City. "Now, (when) they are looking at the Prius, of course, it is a green car, but more importantly it is saving you money."

Vegas Baby

In turning 100 this month, Las Vegas is unwrapping a gigantic present: the new Wynn Las Vegas hotel that city officials hope will attract an influx of Southern California visitors.

The centennial officially falls on May 15, but parades, concerts and exhibits are being held throughout the month. The 2,700-room Wynn Las Vegas debuted last week, making it the first hotel to open on the Las Vegas Strip in five years.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has estimated that 38.2 million visitors will come to the city this year, up from 37.4 million in 2004. About 27 percent of Vegas visitors come from Los Angeles, which is the city's single largest market.

Wayne Rizzi, chief executive of Beverly Hills-based charter flight broker company Air Royale, said he noticed a 10 percent increase in people wanting to book flights last week. Other companies, he said, experienced 30 percent jumps in the number of bookings.

"All of a sudden, they started to pop, and we know why--they are going to the Wynn property," said Rizzi. "Quite a fanfare this guy is creating."

Winning Smile

Los Angeles-based Freeman Spogli & Co. has bought out Gryphon Investors Inc.'s stake in Bright Now! Dental Inc. for $340 million.

Freeman Spogli is betting on the continued popularity of tooth whitening, which has brought in about $385 million in sales this year to Santa Ana-based Bright Now! That's up from about $60 million in 1998, when San Francisco-based Gryphon acquired the company, according to The Daily Deal, which first reported the buyout.

Staff reporter Rachel Brown can be reached at [phone], ext. 224, or by e-mail at [e-mail].