Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: Service Corporation International to divest Kansas, Missouri, and Texas funeral homes and cemeteries, (May 21, 2014)

By Greg Hammond, J.D.

The FTC has announced the approval of Service Corporation International’s (SCI) application to divest certain funeral and cemetery assets to Signature Funeral and Cemetery Investments LLC, pursuant to a proposed order settling charges that SCI’s acquisition of Stewart Enterprises, Inc. would be anticompetitive (In re Matter of Service Corporation International, Docket No. C-4423, File No. 131-0163).

As previously reported, SCI settled anticompetitive FTC charges by agreeing to divest 53 funeral homes and 38 cemeteries to ensure funeral home and cemetery services competition is maintained across the U.S. SCI was already the largest provider of funeral and cemetery services when it proposed a $1.4 billion acquisition of Stewart, the second-largest funeral and cemetery provider with 217 funeral homes and 141 cemeteries.

The FTC-SCI agreement, which was made after a public comment period, allows SCI to divest funeral home and cemetery properties in Kansas, Missouri, and Texas to Signature Funeral and Cemetery investments LLC (Signature). The following assets will be transferred to Signature:

• Mount Moriah Terrace Park Funeral Home & Cemetery in Kansas City, Missouri;

• Overland Park Chapel in Overland Park, Kansas;

• Johnson County Funeral Chapel & Memorial Gardens in Overland Park, Kansas;

• Lincoln Funeral Home & Cemetery in Dallas, Texas;

• Lincoln Memorial Park Cemetery in Dallas, Texas; and

• Emerald City Funeral Home & Cemetery in Kennedale, Texas.

The Commission voted 5-0, approving SCI’s application to divest these assets.

Companies: Service Corporation International; Stewart Enterprises, Inc.; Signature Funeral and Cemetery Investments LLC

News: Antitrust FederalTradeCommissionNews