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Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia

Media and merchandising company built around the Martha Stewart brand, covering magazines, television, books and licensed products.

MediaPublishingBrand licensingHome and lifestyleTelevision

Acquired^{Source [2]}^{Source [4]}Last verified Oct 2, 2026

About Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia was a media and merchandising company built on Martha Stewart's "how to" content for the home, covering cooking and entertaining, gardening, crafts, holidays, weddings and housekeeping. It was formed in 1996 by combining business interests controlled by Stewart, whose original business began with her 1982 book Entertaining.^{Source [1]}

In 1997 it bought Martha Stewart Living magazine, Martha Stewart Weddings, the Martha Stewart Living television program, Martha Stewart Living books and the Martha by Mail catalog from Time Publishing Ventures for about $53.3 million, and launched branded products at Kmart. It went public on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MSO in October 1999.^{Source [1]}

By 2014 it was organized into Publishing, Merchandising and Broadcasting segments, with merchandising licensing at retailers such as The Home Depot, Macy's and J.C. Penney making up 40% of revenue. That year it handed control of Martha Stewart Living magazine and its websites to Meredith Corporation under a licensing agreement. Total revenue was $141.9 million in 2014.^{Source [3]}

Sequential Brands Group acquired the company through a merger effective December 4, 2015, and sold it to Marquee Brands on June 10, 2019 for about $166 million in cash plus an earnout of up to $40 million.^{Source [2]}^{Source [4]}

What happened

Formed in 1996 by combining business interests controlled by Martha Stewart, it bought Martha Stewart Living magazine and related television and catalog businesses from Time Publishing Ventures, a Time Inc. subsidiary, in 1997. It went public on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MSO in October 1999 at $18 per share. Sequential Brands Group acquired it through a merger effective December 4, 2015, and sold it to Marquee Brands on June 10, 2019.^{Source [1]}^{Source [5]}^{Source [6]}^{Source [2]}^{Source [4]}

Timeline

2019-06Sequential Brands Group sold the company to Marquee Brands.^{Source [4]}
2015-12Merged into Sequential Brands Group and ceased to be publicly traded.^{Source [2]}
2014-11Meredith Corporation took over advertising sales, circulation and production of Martha Stewart Living and the company's websites.^{Source [3]}
2010-01Launched the Martha Stewart Living product line at The Home Depot.^{Source [3]}
2004-03Martha Stewart resigned as a director and Chief Creative Officer and became Founding Editorial Director after her trial verdict.^{Source [7]}
2003-06Martha Stewart resigned as chairman and CEO after her indictment.^{Source [7]}
1999-10Went public on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MSO.^{Source [1]}
1997-02Acquired Martha Stewart Living magazine and related businesses from Time Publishing Ventures.^{Source [1]}
1997Launched branded bed, bath and paint collections at Kmart and the website marthastewart.com.^{Source [1]}
1996Formed by combining business interests controlled by Martha Stewart.^{Source [1]}
1993Martha Stewart Living television program launched.^{Source [1]}
1991Martha Stewart Living magazine launched as a quarterly.^{Source [1]}

Products and brands

Martha Stewart Living: Home and lifestyle magazine, launched as a quarterly in 1991 and published ten times a year by 1999.^{Source [1]}^{Source [3]}
Martha Stewart Weddings: Wedding magazine, launched as an annual in 1994.^{Source [1]}
Martha Stewart Living (TV program): Syndicated how-to television program launched in 1993.^{Source [1]}
Martha by Mail: Mail order catalog and online store for Martha Stewart products.^{Source [1]}
Martha Stewart Everyday: Bed and bath products sold at Kmart under a 1997 licensing agreement.^{Source [1]}
Martha Stewart Living at The Home Depot: Home product line launched at The Home Depot in January 2010.^{Source [3]}
Martha Stewart Collection at Macy's: Exclusive home products line at Macy's.^{Source [3]}
Martha Bakes and Martha Stewart's Cooking School: Cooking programs that aired on PBS.^{Source [3]}

How it makes money: The company earned revenue from publishing (magazine advertising and circulation, later a revenue share with Meredith), merchandising (licensing its trademarks and designs to retailers and manufacturers) and broadcasting (television sponsorship and licensing).^{Source [3]}

Leadership

Martha Stewart

Chief Creative Officer and Non-Executive Chairman^{Source [3]}

Until 2015

Funding and financials

Revenue: $141.9 million (2014)^{Source [3]}
Revenue: $230.8 million (2010)^{Source [3]}
Merger consideration: $6.15 in cash or 0.6958 Sequential shares per MSLO share; about $176.7 million in cash and 20.0 million shares in total (December 2015)^{Source [2]}
Sale price to Marquee Brands: About $166 million in cash plus up to $40 million earnout (June 2019)^{Source [4]}

Notable acquisitions

Martha Stewart Living magazine and related businesses (from Time Publishing Ventures)^{Source [1]}

1997

About $53.3 million

People on Founded, and where they went next

1 person on record, connected to 1 other company.

Person	Here	Also built
Martha Stewart	Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Chief Creative Officer, Founding Editorial Director, Chief Creative Officer and Non-Executive Chairman1996 to 2004	HintnowActive

Sources

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. prospectus (Form 424B4), U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR), 1999-10-19. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. Form 8-K (completion of mergers with Sequential Brands Group), U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR), 2015-12-02. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal year 2014, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR), 2015-03-06. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Sequential Brands Group Announces Second Quarter 2019 Results (Exhibit 99.1), Sequential Brands Group via SEC EDGAR, 2019-08-09. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc., Reference for Business. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Martha Stewart, Academy of Achievement. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal year 2003, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR), 2004-03-15. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.

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