One of the iconic brands of home making has just been sold…
At its peak, Martha Stewart’s media empire, built around her carefully curated and fussily decorated lifestyle brand, was worth well over $1 billion.
Yet on Monday, the company agreed to sell itself for a fraction of that.
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia said that it would sell itself to the Sequential Brands Group, a conglomerate whose brands include Jessica Simpson and the Franklin Mint, for just $353 million.
It is in some ways a reminder of how far the company has fallen from its heights, when Ms. Stewart’s particular vision of a perfectly decorated lifestyle commanded attention and investor dollars.
The company was dealt a blow in 2004 when Ms. Stewart — a former stockbroker and model who discovered a lucrative knack for decorating and catering — was convicted of obstructing justice and lying about a well-timed stock sale, spending several months in prison in Alderson, W.Va.
Despite working under a temporary ban from holding an officer title at a publicly traded company, she eventually reclaimed the title of chairwoman of the company that bears her name.
But Martha Stewart Living has been battered by the troubles that have afflicted many media companies, as readers shifted to other titles and television shows. Last fall, the company struck a deal to license two of its main magazine titles to the Meredith Corporation, providing content for those publications.
Now, the company itself will become a part of Sequential Brands, whose business revolves around buying brands and then licensing them out for a fee.
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