Martha Stewart to Wrestle WWF for Investors’ Attention

Two long-awaited new stock issues will make their trading debuts today, testing investors’ interest in new ideas amid a sharply lower market overall.

The World Wrestling Federation priced its initial public offering late Monday, selling 10 million shares at $17 each--above the expected range of $14 to $16.

Meanwhile, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia priced its offering of 7.2 million shares at $18 each, at the top of its expected range of $16 to $18.

Both will begin trading today--WWF on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol WWFE, and Martha Stewart on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MSO.

The deals are considered litmus tests of small investors’ appetites for “brand name” stock offerings that aren’t purely Internet plays.

WWF’s professional wrestling business includes weekly TV shows that are some of the most popular on cable. The live matches, of course, are closer to theatrical productions, with props and story lines, than to sports events.

The company earned $20.3 million on revenue of $76.2 million in the three months ended July 30, compared with earnings of $5.1 million on sales of $39 million for the same period a year earlier.

The WWF offering represents a 15% stake in the Stamford, Conn.-based company, and gives it a total market value of $1.1 billion.

WWF Chairman Vince McMahon, a third-generation wrestling promoter, controls super-voting stock now valued at $964 million.

The offering by New York-based Martha Stewart Living, built from Martha Stewart’s homemaking tips on cooking, entertaining, gardening and crafts, also represents a 15% stake in the business, and values the entire company at $873 million. Martha Stewart’s personal shares now are worth $614 million.

Martha Stewart Living publishes two magazines; airs a how-to TV program; creates a syndicated AskMartha newspaper column; and runs a World Wide Web site at https://marthastewart.com.

The company earned $14.2 million for the six months ended June 30 on sales of $111.5 million.