Martha Stewart’s brands have a new owner
Sequential Brands Group (SQBG) is selling Martha Stewart and Emeril Lagasse’s brands to licensing and marketing company Marquee Brands for $175 million. The deal could be worth as much as $215 million if the brands hit certain targets. Sequential has owned those media and home furnishings’ brands since 2015. The company bought them for about $350 million. The New York Post first reported news of the deal Tuesday.”I am confident that Marquee’s business values, sophisticated digital expertise and international relationships will drive continued growth and position the Martha Stewart brand well for the future,” Stewart said in a statement.Before the sale to Sequential, Stewart’s brands existed as Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, a company she formed after buying out Time Inc.’s shares of Martha Stewart Enterprises in 1997.Stewart stepped away from a leadership role at the company after she was indicted for securities fraud in 2003, and was banned from holding an executive seat by the SEC until 2011.But she later rejoined the board of directors, and was still involved as an executive, major stockholder and board member when the company was sold to Sequential. Marquee said Tuesday that Stewart will “join the Marquee Brands team and continue to guide the brand she founded.”It’s not Stewart’s only business venture. Recently, she joined the Canadian marijuana company Canopy Growth (CGC) as an adviser to help develop products derived from cannabis for people and animals.CNN Business’ Jackie Wattles and Paul R. La Monica contributed to this report.