Martha Stewart Stays Mum On Possible Company Sale
Special to CNBC.com
Martha Stewart stayed mum on whether she would sell her company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, or if she would take the company private.
Speaking from the All Things Digital conference in California Wednesday, Stewart said her company hired a unit of Blackstone to "filter through the opportunities" to enhance shareholder value for her company.
"Everything depends on what it is. We're a valuable company and we have very valuable assets...What we’re hearing each and every day is content is still one of the most valuable things companies can have. We are loaded with extraordinarily good content," she said. "All options are open."
Stewart owns 90 percent of MSO's voting stock and 50 percent of the company. She will be returning to the board in the third quarter but said returning as chief executive is "not in the current plan."
As for taking the company private, "everything’s a possibility. Nothing has been decided."
Martha Stewart Living has licensing agreements to sell products with companies ranging from Macy's to Home Depot to PetSmart.
The company is expanding into digital media, she said, because "it is important to get in places where readers want us."
That includes Twitter, which she calls a valuable tool that allows her to do "instantaneous surveys and get immediate responses. I can do all kinds of immediate research that was not possible before. It’s really great, as is Facebook for guiding customers to our content. It is a new frontier and we are alive and well."