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.
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