Martha Stewart Acquires Select Emeril Assets

NEW YORK, February 19: Martha
Stewart Living Omnimedia has reached an agreement with Emeril Lagasse to
acquire select branded assets from the popular chef, including television
content, cookbooks and a website, for $50 million.

MSLO is acquiring the
rights to the TV show The Essence of Emeril and syndication episodes of Emeril Live on The
Food Network, as well as food
correspondent segments on ABC's Good Morning America. It will also acquire a library of 12 cookbooks;
the emerils.com website; licensed kitchen products with Emeril-branded cookware
by All-Clad, cutlery by Wusthof, tableware by Wedgwood and electrical
appliances by T-fal; and food products like Bam! B-Q sauce, spices, marinades,
coffee and more.

Lagasse's 11 restaurants
and corporate office, which is called Emeril's Homebase, will be unaffected by
this transaction and will continue to operate in New Orleans.

"Emeril brings
talent, energy and legions of fans to the Martha Stewart family, along with a
powerful brand and an attractive, profitable business franchise," said
Susan Lyne, the president and CEO of MSLO. "Emeril's high-quality
food-related content and product lines complement our own, and offer
multiplatform expansion opportunities. He brings to the MSLO fold a
well-managed company with highly attractive EBITDA and cash flow levels that
will contribute immediately to our performance. This acquisition is a
significant one strategically as we expand and diversify our business by
applying our expertise in managing multiplatform lifestyle brands."

The purchase price is $50
million, $45 in cash and $5 million in stock, and could reach up to $70 million
if certain performance targets are realized in 2011 and 2012. The transaction
is expected to close in the second quarter.

—By Mansha Daswani