The New York Post reports that Martha Stewart’s brand has been sold by Sequential Brands Group to Marquee Brands for $215 million.
Sequential probably didn’t see it as a victory: It acquired the Martha Stewart brand four years ago for $355 million.
That would be a loss of $140 million.
The reason for the sale, the Post writes, is Martha Stewart’s age. (She’s 77.)
“A source close to the situation likewise said Sequential took the painful markdown on Stewart’s brand ‘rather than waiting several years at the risk of her age’,” the Post writes. “Indeed, 77-year-old Stewart’s contract with Sequential included specific language about her death, requiring the firm to pay her 3.5 percent of gross licensing revenues of her brand for the remainder of her life — and to pay her estate for a ‘minimum of 5 years of payments’ if she dies before Dec. 31, 2030, according to securities filings.”
Stewart is not a cheap date. She “was paid a whopping $6.6 million by Sequential 2017, including $406,941 for ‘non-business’ travel, $114,620 for ‘utilities and telecommunication services’ and $146,880 tied to ‘personal fitness, wellness, beauty and wardrobe,’ according to regulatory filings,” the Post reports.
Sequential probably didn’t see it as a victory: It acquired the Martha Stewart brand four years ago for $355 million.
That would be a loss of $140 million.
The reason for the sale, the Post writes, is Martha Stewart’s age. (She’s 77.)
“A source close to the situation likewise said Sequential took the painful markdown on Stewart’s brand ‘rather than waiting several years at the risk of her age’,” the Post writes. “Indeed, 77-year-old Stewart’s contract with Sequential included specific language about her death, requiring the firm to pay her 3.5 percent of gross licensing revenues of her brand for the remainder of her life — and to pay her estate for a ‘minimum of 5 years of payments’ if she dies before Dec. 31, 2030, according to securities filings.”
Stewart is not a cheap date. She “was paid a whopping $6.6 million by Sequential 2017, including $406,941 for ‘non-business’ travel, $114,620 for ‘utilities and telecommunication services’ and $146,880 tied to ‘personal fitness, wellness, beauty and wardrobe,’ according to regulatory filings,” the Post reports.
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