 At the time of its acquisition, the primary requirement of retiring Johnson Hill CEO Jonathan Pellegrin was that PTN would allow the publications to remain in Wisconsin.PTN Publishing itself would be acquired for a reported $98 million as the final piece in the creation of Cygnus Business Media in 1997.Formed a year before the acquisition, Cygnus was a creation of two former Turner Broadcasting System executives, World Championship Wrestling founder F. Blair Schmidt-Fellner and former Home Shopping Network CEO Gerry Hogan, along with investment firm Kelso & Co.

Fellner, Hogan and Kelso would steer Cygnus for three years before selling it to the newly formed Commerce Connect Media for a reported $275 million.