to be shareholders. They sued Manex and Managing Director Robert Bobo, arguing he had defrauded them and was using the company for personal gain. Plaintiffs included Michael Van Himbergen, Roger Davis, and Steven Gillam. After losing in their initial efforts, the three plaintiffs settled for an undisclosed sum in a swap for public stock owned by them that was transferred to Manex Entertainment in March 2000. Robert Bobo was free thereafter to try to sell Manex for about $20 million if desired. Bobo stressed at the time that the company was not being sold and was instead upgrading and bringing in investors. The company did raise a significant amount of investment and continued to expand but was eventually sold by Bobo and management to an investor group from Trenton, New Jersey. After that, Bobo and key management left with no further contracts awarded to the company. Expansion and acquisitions In 1999 Manex expanded, acquiring the Los Angeles operations of the Computer Film Company. The company underwent reorganization including the formation on an interactive division headed by Bill Dawson, formerly of Softnet, Xoom.com and Apple. Dawson recruited Kawika Maszak, also from Softnet and formerly of Gannett, as the division's executive producer. Manex Interactive received a New York International Independent Film & Video Festival award for its experimental short film Seriality. Another division, Manex Studios, also converted thousands of square feet in old hangar space to film studios where dozens of commercials, special events and feature films were shot. The firm designed effects for the 2000 movies Romeo Must Die and Mission: Impossible 2. Manex further developed their virtual cinematography work in movies such as Michael Jordan to the Max in 2000. In February 2000, the firm announced it had hired a veteran from Industrial Light & Magic as its president, and had garnered millions in investment capital. In May 2000, the United States Army announced that it was studying the feasibility of using Manex's "bullet-time" technology to build a "holodeck" for training and simulation. After the sale in late December 2000, Manex closed its Manex Interactive division, and a number of executives left the company, including Bobo. Change of staff In March 2001 and under new ownership, it was reported that "financial woes" at Manex had prompted Warner Bros. to award the $30 million contract for the second Matrix film to ESC Entertainment. ESC Entertainment was a new company which had