Penton Media, the trade media company now owned by MidOcean Partners, Wasserstein & Co. and others, has done a major restructuring: firstly, it is forming an unnamed digital media division, and Prescott Shibles, who had been VP-new media for Penton and its predecessor, Prism Business Media, since 2003, heads the new unit, reporting to Penton CEO John French, reports Btobonline. The company is also launching a Penton Portfolio ad network, which sells remnant online advertising for Penton sites to non-endemic advertisers and expanding it by inviting other B2B publishers to join.

SEE ALSO: MidOcean Buys 50 Percent Stake In Combined Prism/Penton Merger

At the end of 2007, the company’s online revenue was north of $50 million and the department had grown to 123 people, it said.

Meanwhile, at the rest of the company, the picture is more dire: CEO French has called for salary and hiring freezes, and has launched a company-wide revenue reforecast for the remainder of 2008, reports Folio, citing an internal memo. “Based on our forecasts, we project considerable revenue challenges for the balance of the year.” The salary freeze will continue until the company sees “indications of bottom-line improvement.”

Updated: the full memo from French is here, and shows the travails of B2B publishing industry, among other things.