Marquee Brands to spend $215mn acquiring Martha Stewart and Emeril Lagasse from Sequential Brands

Sequential Brands Group, owner of the Martha Stewart lifestyle and homeware brand for the past four years (according to Forbes), has announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell the property to Marquee Brands LLC. The deal will see Marquee pay an estimated cash consideration of US$175mn for the Martha Stewart Brand, which includes the Emeril Lagasse brand purchased by Martha Stewart in 2008, alongside a $40mn earnout opportunity.

The total sale price of $215mn will represent a significant decrease in price compared to the $355mn paid by Sequential for the brands in 2015. Sequential will reportedly use a large portion of the funds from the sale to pay off outstanding debts.

Sequential Brands Group Chairman William Sweedler commented, “This transaction gives us financial and operating flexibility and streamlines our business around core brands with the highest margins and attractive growth prospects. I believe this new focus will generate greater shareholder value.”

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“This transaction allows Sequential to make meaningful progress in de-levering our balance sheet, which is a top priority,” said Karen Murray, CEO of Sequential Brands Group. “This process was conducted after careful consideration by our Board of Directors and advisors. While we have made significant progress with the Martha Stewart and Emeril Lagasse brands, we determined the best direction for the Company going forward is to focus on our core active and fashion brands and drive even more profitable growth across our business. I have confidence that the Martha Stewart and Emeril Lagasse brands will continue to flourish under new ownership as they build on what we have accomplished to date. We thank Martha for her support of Sequential and this transaction.”

The transaction is expected to close in Q2, 2019. It is unknown whether the Martha Stewart brand will rework its operational strategy. Currently, the brand’s biggest outlet is Macy’s, where it is one of the store’s house brands for home furnishings and, according to Forbes, is successful.