In this photo released by "The Martha Stewart Show," TV Chef Emeril Lagasse joins Stewart on the set Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2008 in New York to celebrate their new partnership.

(AP Photo/The Martha Stewart Show, Anders Krusberg)

The New York-based media and merchandising company founded by domesticity maven Martha Stewart announced Tuesday that it had bought the rights to Lagasse's franchise of cookbooks, television shows and kitchen products from him for $45 million (30.53 million) in cash and $5 million (3.39 million) in stock.

The final price could rise to up to $70 million (47.48 million) if certain benchmarks are achieved.

Earlier, Martha Stewart, the media mogul, who is also known as a 'home improvement guru' was found guilty of obstructing investigations into charges that she sold 4000 shares of the company ImClone, which belonged to her friend. She, infact, sold these shares just before the value of the stocks dropped sharply in 2001.