FORT ATKINSON, Wis. – Cygnus Business Media today announced that it has sold a large group of publications to SouthComm, Inc., a publishing and communications company, based in Nashville, Tenn., for an undisclosed amount. The transaction was handled by Corporate Solutions, LLC and was finalized on November 3, 2014. Iroquois Capital Group advised SouthComm, Inc. All employees related to these businesses were retained by SouthComm, Inc.

According to Cygnus CEO John French, “Five years ago we embarked on a mission to improve Cygnus and return value to our shareholders. During the last several years, the company has worked hard to turn its properties into multi-platform industry-leading brands because we knew one day the company would be sold. With this sale today, we take another step toward that ultimate goal.

After working with SouthComm on this deal for the past few months, we could not be more impressed with their team. We realized that their leadership team has a great vision for the future of these brands. We believe that our employees would find a good home and Southcomm will benefit from their creativity and experience.”

The properties sold include the Public Safety and Security Group which is made up of: Firehouse, Firehouse.com, Firehouse Expo, Firehouse World, EMS World, EMSworld.com, EMS World Expo, Law Enforcement Technology, Law Enforcement Product News, Officer.com, Security Technology Executive, Security Dealer & Integrator, Secured Cities, Locksmith Ledger International, LocksmithLedger.com and SecurityInfoWatch.com. The sale also included Mass Transit, MassTransitMag.com, Professional Tool & Equipment News, Professional Distributor, Fleet Maintenance and VehicleServicePros.com.

“We applaud John and his team for the work they’ve done to make these properties industry leaders and profitable,” said SouthComm founder and CEO Chris Ferrell. “We are excited to add these groups to the SouthComm portfolio of businesses and continue to provide leading content to all of the audiences served by these well-known brands.”

About SouthComm, Inc.
SouthComm was formed in 2007 and operates a diverse portfolio of print and online properties as well as a number of local and regional events. The Nashville-based company is the country’s second largest publisher of alt-weeklies with weekly publications in Nashville, Atlanta, Washington D.C., Kansas City, Cincinnati, and Tampa as well the regional Medical News chain of papers. The company also owns Target Marketing and SouthComm Publishing, custom publishing companies serving chambers of commerce and other associations around the country. For more information, visit southcomm.com.

About Cygnus Business Media

Cygnus Business Media is an internationally-recognized business-to-business media company that provides comprehensive, integrated advertising and marketing programs for some of the world’s largest and most recognized business-to-business brands. Its diverse portfolio serves various market categories and industries with print, digital products and live events. Through its media content, the company engages print subscribers, online visitors and event attendees who are targeted industry professionals.