History
The company was founded in 1997 as an umbrella for the various media and merchandising ventures linked to the Martha Stewart brand. It went public on the NYSE on October 19, 1999. The stock opened at $18 a share, but shot up to $38 a share, making Stewart an instant billionaire on paper.
She served as president, chairwoman and CEO of the company until being forced to resign as a result of the ImClone insider trading case. As part of an agreement with the SEC, she was banned from serving in any role that would allow her to prepare, audit or disclose financial results of a public company until August 2011. In effect, this banned her from serving as an officer of her own company. However, she still owns a 96 percent controlling interest.
Stewart rejoined the board of directors of her namesake company in September 2011 and became its chairwoman once again in May 2012.
Read more about this topic: Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Like their personal lives, women’s history is fragmented, interrupted; a shadow history of human beings whose existence has been shaped by the efforts and the demands of others.”
—Elizabeth Janeway (b. 1913)
“Don’t you realize that this is a new empire? Why, folks, there’s never been anything like this since creation. Creation, huh, that took six days, this was done in one. History made in an hour. Why it’s a miracle out of the Old Testament!”
—Howard Estabrook (1884–1978)
“English history is all about men liking their fathers, and American history is all about men hating their fathers and trying to burn down everything they ever did.”
—Malcolm Bradbury (b. 1932)