Westport, CT – Tony O’Brien and Carr Davis stepped down as co-CEOs of Cygnus Business Media on December 31 in anticipation of the impending sale of the company.
A written statement from CFO Jim Ogle e-mailed to Cygnus staff on New Year’s Eve did not identify the prospective buyer but did say the deal with Cygnus owner ABRY Partners was expected to be struck sometime in early 2009.
Cygnus’s exhibition division organizes 40 events nationwide, including five farm shows and the Firehouse series of trade shows for the firefighting industry.
O’Brien and Davis spent more than two years at the helm of Cygnus and previously ran FDCH e-media, Inc. a news content distribution company they founded in 1993. Their future plans were not known but Ogle said their departures were voluntary and had been expected.
The void will be filled on an interim basis by Charles Carnaval, a director at Zolfo Cooper. The New York firm specializes in the interim management of companies and Carnaval is expected to step aside once Cygnus is under new ownership.
Reach Jim Ogle at (201) 487-7800 or james.ogle@cygnusb2b.com; Charles Carnaval 212-561-4090 or ccarnaval@zolfocooper.com
