StoneMor Announces Acquisition of 8 Cemeteries and 5 Funeral Homes

StoneMor Partners L.P. today announced that it had acquired five cemeteries and five funeral homes in Indiana, two cemeteries in Ohio and one cemetery in Michigan. The cemeteries and funeral homes were purchased out of state court-appointed receiverships in Indiana and Michigan. StoneMor’s investment in this transaction, including advances to fund trust shortfalls, totaled approximately $33 million in cash and StoneMor units. For additional information about this transaction, see StoneMor’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 25, 2010.

These properties are expected to contribute approximately $14 million to the value of contracts written and $18 million in production-based revenue during their first year of operation. Although there is no assurance of future performance or increased distributions to unit holders, historically, StoneMor has been able to improve revenues and operating profits of acquired properties.

Currently, StoneMor operates six cemeteries in Indiana, twelve cemeteries in Michigan and thirteen cemeteries and two funeral homes in Ohio. This acquisition is expected to strengthen the company’s current market position in each state and regionally. Each of the acquired cemeteries is expected to benefit from the company’s existing operational management structure. In the last 12 months, the cemeteries that have been acquired performed over 2,500 burials and the funeral homes conducted over 900 funerals. Additionally, these properties have over 400 undeveloped acres available for sale, over 30,000 unsold cemetery spaces in the developed sections, over 4,400 unsold lawn crypts, and over 7,000 constructed unsold mausoleum crypts.

The cemeteries and funeral homes are located in the following cities: Brookville and Springboro, Ohio; Grand Rapids, Michigan and Fort Wayne, Greenwood, South Bend, Whitestown, Washington and Muncie, Indiana.

Source: Market Watch