Cygnus Adds 9 to Construction Portfolio

Four years ago, Cygnus Expositions produced barely a dozen tradeshows. With its latest acquisition – nine regional building and construction shows purchased from Cornerstone Expositions – Cygnus is now up to 59.

The Burnsville, Minn.-based subsidiary of Cygnus Business Media last year sealed more deals than any other show management company, according to Jordan, Edmiston Group Inc. Its four acquisitions included the 25 regional plant engineering events that came with the $3.8-million purchase of Penton Media's 20-year-old Professional Trade Shows, and the Solid Surface Intl. Expo, a 60,000 net square foot show held at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The purchase of nine Cornerstone events is Cygnus' first acquisition of the new year. The deal includes six CONEX regional building and construction shows, held in Connecticut, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Carolina and Wisconsin, as well as MASCON, the New England Snow & Ice Removal Expo and the Contractors & Building Supply Show. Cornerstone purchased most of the CONEX shows less than two years ago from Key Productions, based in Hartford, Conn. The New England Snow & Ice Removal Expo was launched Nov. 18-19, 2003 at the Royal Plaza Trade Center in Marlboro, Mass.

Cygnus Expositions President Jeff Price said his company had been eyeing the Cornerstone properties for some time. Cygnus last year bought Asphalt magazine from Cornerstone's backer, the Chicago private-equity firm Cardinal Growth. "We like regional shows. It makes it cost-effective for attendees and exhibitors. They really work well in today's world," Price said.

Cygnus has offered to hire the Hartford, Conn. staff that worked on the shows for Cornerstone, and previously for Key Productions. The seasoned staff, whom Price described as "a good bunch of resilient people," will enable Cygnus to hit the ground running. Price said it usually takes only a month or two to integrate new shows into the company.

The acquisitions make building and construction the largest of the expositions unit's 15 sectors, Price said. Cygnus Expositions, a subsidiary of Cygnus Business Media, produces nine magazines and eight Web sites in the building sector and 10 magazines and 12 Web sites in the construction sector.

The company is launching the Kitchen & Bath Design & Remodeling Expo Oct. 19-21 at the Valley Forge Convention Center in King of Prussia, Pa. and an invitation-only showcase by the same name Oct. 1. The 6-year-old Solid Surface Intl. Expo, held March 4-6 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, rounds out its building events. In its construction portfolio are two Natl. Pavement Expos and the Damage Prevention Conference & Exposition.

Cornerstone was formed two years ago to acquire tradeshows in the architecture, engineering, building and facilities management sectors. Cornerstone bought Intl. Cement from Primedia in March 2002. Four months later, it bought the CONEX events from Key Productions.

Sale of the nine shows to Cygnus leaves Cornerstone with five shows: EnviroExpo, Intl. Cement, Maine Industrial Show, New England Truck Expo and the New Hampshire Industrial Show. Company representatives did not return phone calls.

Price said Cygnus Expositions will continue to look for events to complement trade magazines produced by sister company Cygnus Publishing. "We're trying to provide live events where we have trade magazines and vice versa. We'll keep looking around for acquisition targets that make strategic sense," he said.