Service Corp. ups bid for Stewart Enterprises to $11 per share

By Susanna Moon

Chicago, July 22 - Service Corp. International offered $11.00 per share in cash for all outstanding shares of Stewart Enterprises, Inc., according to an 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In a July 21 letter to Stewart Enterprises' directors, Ryan L. Thomas said the board may have misunderstood the company's intention to pay $10.25 to $11.25 each for the outstanding shares, so Service Corp. is now offering $11.00 in order to eliminate any ambiguity. Thomas is Service Corp.'s president and chief executive officer.

"We continue to believe that the time is right and the value is compelling for a combination of our businesses," Thomas wrote.

On July 14, Service Corp. said it would honor Stewart Enterprises' decision to reject the $9.50-per-share offer made for the company on June 25.

Stewart Enterprises, in rejecting the offer, said it was not in the best interest of shareholders and called the proposal "inadequate."

Thomas J. Crawford, Stewart Enterprises' president and CEO, explained that the company is accomplishing positive change with its new management team in place.

"Our board and management remain committed to implementing our company's business plan as the best course to maximize stockholder value," Crawford said in his July 7 letter to Service Corp.

Service Corp. International and Stewart Enterprises both provide funeral and cemetery products and services. Stewart Enterprises is located in Jefferson, La., and Service Corp. is based in Houston.

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