BRIEFCASE IWERKS AND SIMEX COMPETE MERGER.

Byline: - From staff and wire reports

BURBANK - Iwerks Entertainment Inc., a provider of special venue entertainment theaters, and SimEx Inc., a player in the special venue entertainment market, completed their merger Wednesday.

Iwerks became a wholly owned subsidiary of SimEx.

Each share of Iwerks' issued and outstanding common stock, other than shares held in its treasury, was canceled and automatically converted into the right to receive about 63 cents in cash, without interest.

As of today, Iwerks had nearly 3.6 million shares of common stock issued and outstanding.

``The combination of Iwerks and SimEx will be a powerful force in the large format and ride simulation industry,'' said Gary Matus, chief executive officer of Iwerks.

Iwerks, founded in 1986, has nearly 200 installations in 38 countries, at entertainment centers, amusement parks, movie theaters, museums, science centers, shopping centers, casinos, resorts, nightclubs and restaurants.

SimEx builds turnkey special venue attractions that feature film or digital projection, simulation technology and themed environments.

With corporate offices in Toronto, SimEx has film production studios in Los Angeles, Toronto and Vancouver, and international sales and service offices in Tokyo and London.

Disney, EchoStar spar over channel

The Walt Disney Co. denied Wednesday that it had asked EchoStar Communications Corp. to carry its ABC Family Channel at a higher rate, which EchoStar contended last week.

A federal judge on Jan. 31 barred EchoStar from dropping the Disney- owned Family Channel from its programming.

A hearing on whether the temporary restraining order against EchoStar should be made permanent is scheduled for Jan. 17.

In a Jan. 2 news release, EchoStar said Disney executives made threats to oppose the pending EchoStar-DIRECTV merger ``unless EchoStar bowed to Disney's demand for continued carriage at much higher rates for ABC Family ... .''

Anne Sweeney, president of ABC Cable Networks Group, said ``we did not insist on the rate increase on ABC Family ... . We have a long-term carriage agreement with EchoStar for ABC Family.''

EchoStar contends it is legally permitted to drop the Family Channel because the channel's ownership recently changed. The Walt Disney Co. acquired the channel from News Corp. in a $5.2 billion deal in November.

Skechers expects 40% rise in 2001

MANHATTAN BEACH - Skechers USA Inc. reported Wednesday its total net sales are expected to increase 40 percent for the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, compared to the previous year.

The footwear company estimates its net sales will range between $946 million and $961 million, vs. $675 million for the 2000 fiscal year.

The company estimates that net sales for the fourth quarter should range between $200 million and $215 million, a 16-percent-plus increase from the $172 million reported in the fourth quarter of 2000.

``Despite a weak retail environment and recent world events, we are pleased that we continued to build the brand impressively and increase market share both domestically and internationally in 2001,'' said Chairman and CEO Robert Greenberg.

The company will release its 2001 fourth-quarter and year-end results upon completion of a year-end audit.

Local music firm buys into Fender

Los Angeles-based Roland Corp. made a minority investment in Fender Musical Instruments Corp. of Scottsdale, Ariz., it was announced Wednesday.

Roland designs, manufactures and distributes electronic musical instruments, professional audio equipment, multimedia products and music accessories.