FTC Approves Four SCI Applications to Divest Funeral and Cemetery Assets in Six States

Following public comment periods, the Federal Trade Commission has approved four applications by Service Corporation International (SCI) to divest certain funeral and cemetery assets, as required under the FTC’s May 2014 order settling charges that SCI’s acquisition of Stewart Enterprises, Inc. would be anticompetitive.  In total, the order requires the combined SCI/Stewart to divest 53 funeral homes and 38 cemeteries to ensure competition is maintained in 59 communities throughout the United States.

Through these actions, the FTC has approved the divestiture of:

• Hillcrest Memorial Gardens in Annapolis, Maryland, to Hillcrest Memorial Association MD, Inc., and Pleasant View Memory Gardens in Kearneysville, West Virginia, to Pleasant View Memorial Association, Inc., as detailed in SCI’s application. The acquirers are owned in equal part by Guy N. Saxton and John L. Yeatman.
• Parkwood Cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland, to Parkwood Memorial Association, Inc., which is owned in equal part by Guy N. Saxton and John L. Yeatman.
• Fifteen funeral home and cemetery assets in California, Florida, and Texas to NorthStar Memorial Group, LLC.
• Mobile Memorial Gardens Funeral Home in Mobile, Alabama, to Legacy Funeral Holdings of Alabama, LLC.

The Commission vote to approve the applications was 5-0. (FTC File No. C4423, Docket No. 571222; the staff contact is Elizabeth A. Piotrowski, Bureau of Competition, 202-326-2623)

The FTC’s Bureau of Competition works with the Bureau of Economics to investigate alleged anticompetitive business practices and, when appropriate, recommends that the Commission take law enforcement action. To inform the Bureau about particular business practices, call 202-326-3300, send an e-mail to antitrust{at}ftc{dot}gov, or write to the Office of Policy and Coordination, Bureau of Competition, Federal Trade Commission, 600Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Room CC-5422, Washington, DC 20580. To learn more about the Bureau of Competition, read Competition Counts. Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.