e424b3
Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3)
Registration No. 333-143924
PROSPECTUS
Service Corporation International
Offer to Exchange
Registered 6.75% Senior Notes due 2015
Registered 7.50% Senior Notes due 2027
for
All Outstanding 6.75% Senior Notes due 2015 issued on
April 9, 2007
All Outstanding 7.50% Senior Notes due 2027 issued on
April 9, 2007
($400,000,000 aggregate principal amount outstanding)
We are offering to exchange, upon the terms and subject to the
conditions set forth in this prospectus and the accompanying
letter of transmittal, all of our outstanding 6.75% Senior Notes
due 2015 issued on April 9, 2007 for our registered 6.75%
Senior Notes due 2015, and all of our outstanding 7.50% Senior
Notes due 2027 issued on April 9, 2007 for our registered
7.50% Senior Notes due 2027. In this prospectus, we will call
the original 6.75% Senior Notes due 2015 the Old 2015
Notes, and we will call the original 7.50% Senior Notes
due 2027 the Old 2027 Notes. The Old 2015 Notes and
the Old 2027 Notes will collectively be referred to as the
Old Notes. Additionally, in this prospectus, we will
call the registered 6.75% Senior Notes due 2015 the New
2015 Notes, and we will call the registered 7.50% Senior
Notes due 2027 the New 2027 Notes. The New 2015
Notes and the New 2027 Notes will collectively be referred to as
the New Notes. The Old Notes and New Notes are
collectively referred to in this prospectus as the
notes. The Old 2015 Notes and the New 2015 notes are
collectively referred to in this prospectus as the 2015
Notes. The Old 2027 Notes and New 2027 Notes are
collectively referred to as the 2027 Notes.
The Exchange Offer
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The exchange offer expires at 5:00 p.m., New York
City time, on August 8, 2007, unless extended. |
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The exchange offer is not conditioned upon a minimum aggregate
principal amount of Old Notes being tendered. |
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All outstanding Old Notes validly tendered and not withdrawn
will be exchanged. |
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The exchange offer is not subject to any condition other than
that the exchange offer not violate applicable law or any
applicable interpretation of the staff of the Securities and
Exchange Commission. |
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We will not receive any cash proceeds from the exchange offer. |
The New Notes
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The terms of the New Notes to be issued in the exchange offer
are substantially identical to the Old Notes, except that we
have registered the New Notes with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. In addition, the New Notes will not be subject to
certain transfer restrictions. |
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Interest on the New 2015 Notes will be paid at the rate of 6.75%
per annum, semi-annually in arrears on April 1 and
October 1, commencing October 1, 2007. |
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Interest on the New 2027 Notes will be paid at the rate of 7.50%
per annum, semi-annually in arrears on April 1 and
October 1, commencing October 1, 2007. |
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The New Notes will not be listed on any securities exchange or
for quotation through any automated dealer quotation system. |
You should carefully consider the risk factors beginning on
page 12 of this prospectus before participating in the
exchange offer.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state
securities commission has approved or disapproved of these
securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or
complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal
offense.
Each broker-dealer that receives New Notes for its own
account pursuant to the exchange offer must acknowledge that it
will deliver a prospectus in connection with any resale of such
New Notes. The letter of transmittal states that by so
acknowledging and by delivering a prospectus, a broker-dealer
will not be deemed to admit that it is an
underwriter within the meaning of the Securities
Act. This prospectus, as it may be amended or supplemented from
time to time, may be used by a broker-dealer in connection with
resales of New Notes received in exchange for
Old Notes where such Old Notes were acquired by such
broker-dealer as a result of market-making activities or other
trading activities. See Plan of Distribution.
The date of this prospectus is July 11, 2007.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Until August 21, 2007, all dealers that effect
transactions in these securities, whether or not participating
in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This
is in addition to the dealers obligation to deliver a
prospectus when acting as underwriters and with respect to their
unused allotments or subscriptions.
This prospectus incorporates important business and financial
information about us that is not included in or delivered with
the document. You may obtain this information, at no charge, by
contacting us at the address or telephone number set forth
below.
We have filed with the SEC a registration statement on
Form S-4 under the
Securities Act to register the notes offered by this prospectus.
The registration statement contains additional information about
us and the notes. We strongly encourage you to read carefully
the registration statement and the exhibits and schedules
thereto.
You can obtain the additional information incorporated into
this prospectus or otherwise included in the registration
statement through our website at www.sci-corp.com or by
requesting it in writing or by telephone from us at the
following address:
Service Corporation International
1929 Allen Parkway
Houston, Texas 77019
Attention: Secretary
Telephone No:
(713) 522-5141
To obtain timely delivery of any requested information, you
must request the information no later than five business days
before you make your investment decision. Please make any such
requests on or before August 1, 2007. See Where You
Can Find More Information for more information about these
matters.
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WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements
and other information with the Commission under the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934. You may read and copy this information at
the Commissions public reference room, 100 F Street, N.E.,
Washington, D.C. 20549. For information on the operation of
the Public Reference Room, you may call the Commission at
1-800-SEC-0330. The information we file with the Commission is
also available to the public from the Commissions website
at http://www.sec.gov. You can also inspect reports, proxy
statements and other information about us at the offices of the
New York Stock Exchange, Inc., located at 20 Broad Street, New
York, New York 10005. In addition, you can obtain certain
documents, including those filed with the Commission, through
our website at
www.sci-corp.com.
Information contained on our website or any other website is not
incorporated into this prospectus and does not constitute a part
of this prospectus.
We incorporate by reference information into this
prospectus, which means that we disclose important information
to you by referring you to another document filed separately
with the Commission. This important information is not included
in or delivered with this prospectus. The information
incorporated by reference is deemed to be part of this
prospectus, except for any information superseded by information
contained directly in this prospectus. The documents listed
below and incorporated by reference into this prospectus contain
important information about us and our financial condition:
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Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the
fiscal year ended December 31, 2006; |
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Quarterly Report on
Form 10-Q for the
quarter ended March 31, 2007; |
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Proxy Statement in connection with the 2007 Annual Meeting of
Shareholders filed on April 6, 2007; and |
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Current Reports on
Form 8-K or Form
8-K/A filed on February 12, 2007; March 27, 2007;
March 30, 2007; April 10, 2007, May 8, 2007 and
June 20, 2007. |
All documents filed by us with the Commission from the date of
this prospectus until the completion of the exchange offer shall
also be deemed to be incorporated herein by reference. We are
not incorporating any documents or information deemed to have
been furnished and not filed in accordance with the
Commissions rules and regulations.
You may obtain all or any of the documents referred to above
from us free of charge by requesting them in writing or by
telephone from us at the following address:
Service Corporation International
1929 Allen Parkway
Houston, Texas 77019
Attention: Secretary
Telephone No.: (713) 522-5141
To obtain timely delivery of any requested information, you
must request the information no later than five business days
before you make your investment decision. Please make any such
requests on or before August 1, 2007.
We have not authorized anyone to give any information or make
any representation that differs from, or adds to, the
information in this document or in our documents that are
publicly filed with the Commission. Therefore, if anyone does
give you different or additional information, you should not
rely on it.
If you are in a jurisdiction where it is unlawful to offer to
exchange or sell, or to ask for offers to exchange or buy, the
securities offered by this document, or if you are a person to
whom it is unlawful to direct these activities, then the offer
presented by this document does not extend to you.
The information contained in this document speaks only as of
its date unless the information specifically indicates that
another date applies.
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PROSPECTUS SUMMARY
This summary highlights selected information appearing in
other sections of, or incorporated by reference in, this
prospectus. It is not complete and does not contain all the
information that you should consider before exchanging Old Notes
for New Notes. You should carefully read this prospectus and the
documents incorporated by reference to understand fully the
terms of the exchange offer, as well as the tax and other
considerations that may be important to you. You should pay
special attention to the Risk Factors section
beginning on page 12 of this prospectus, as well as the
section entitled Cautionary Statement Regarding
Forward-Looking Statements beginning on page 18 of
this prospectus. You should rely only on the information
contained or incorporated by reference in this document or to
which we have referred you. We have not authorized anyone to
provide you with information that is different. The information
in this document may only be accurate on the date of this
document. For purposes of this prospectus, unless the context
requires or as otherwise indicated, when we refer to
SCI, the Company, us,
we, our, or ours, we are
describing Service Corporation International, together with its
subsidiaries.
Our Business
We are North Americas leading provider of deathcare
products and services, with a network of funeral homes and
cemeteries unequalled in geographic scale and reach. At
March 31, 2007, we operated 1,570 funeral service locations
and 447 cemeteries, (including 232 combination locations)
in North America, which are geographically diversified across
45 states, eight Canadian provinces, the District of
Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Our funeral segment also includes the
operations of Kenyon International Emergency Services, a
subsidiary that specializes in providing disaster management
services in mass fatality incidents as well as training,
planning, and crisis communications consulting services, and the
operations of 13 funeral homes in Germany that we intend to exit
when economic values and conditions are conducive to a sale.
As part of our strategy to enhance our position as North
Americas premier funeral and cemetery provider, we
acquired Alderwoods Group, Inc. (Alderwoods) for
$20.00 per share in cash in November 2006. The purchase
price of $1.2 billion includes the refinancing of
$357.7 million and the assumption of $2.2 million of
Alderwoods debt. Alderwoods properties, which
include 578 funeral service locations and 70 cemeteries
(including 63 combination locations), have been substantially
integrated into our operations at December 31, 2006. These
properties are operated in the same manner as our incumbent
properties, under our leadership, and are reported in the
appropriate reporting segment (funeral or cemetery) in our
consolidated financial statements.
Our funeral service and cemetery operations consist of funeral
service locations, cemeteries, funeral service/cemetery
combination locations, crematoria and related businesses. We
provide all professional services relating to funerals and
cremations, including the use of funeral facilities and motor
vehicles, and preparation and embalming services. Funeral
related merchandise, including caskets, burial vaults, cremation
receptacles, flowers and other ancillary products and services,
is sold at funeral service locations. Our cemeteries provide
cemetery property interment rights, including mausoleum spaces,
lots, and lawn crypts, and sell cemetery related merchandise and
services, including stone and bronze memorials, burial vaults,
casket and cremation memorialization products, merchandise
installations, and burial openings and closings. We also sell
preneed funeral and cemetery preneed products and services
whereby a customer contractually agrees to the terms of certain
products and services to be delivered and performed in the
future.
Our operations in the United States and Canada are organized
into 37 major markets and 45 middle markets (including eight
Hispana markets). Each market is led by a market director with
responsibility for funeral and/or cemetery operations and
preneed sales. Within each market, the funeral homes and
cemeteries share common resources such as personnel, preparation
services, and vehicles. There are four market support centers in
North America to assist market directors with financial,
administrative, pricing, and human resource needs. These support
centers are located in Houston, Miami, New York, and Los
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Angeles. The primary functions of the support centers are to
help facilitate the execution of corporate strategies,
coordinate communication between the field and corporate
offices, and serve as liaisons for the implementation of
policies and procedures.
Our Competitive Strengths
Industry leader. We believe that our estimated 14%
North America share, based on 2005 industry revenues, is
approximately five times that of our next largest
North American competitor and more than twice that of the
estimated 6% combined share of the remaining three publicly
traded deathcare companies. We believe that our size provides us
the benefits of standardized training, industry best practices
and efficiencies of scale.
Geographic reach. Our combined network allows us
to serve a broad population base with more than
1,900 funeral and cemetery locations diversified over
45 states, eight Canadian provinces, the District of
Columbia and Puerto Rico. We believe our scale differentiates us
from our competition by allowing us to implement a national
brand strategy and to pursue strategic affinity partnerships
with national groups that can influence their members
choice of deathcare provider. For example, our strategic
affinity partnerships today include the Veterans of Foreign Wars
and Ladies Auxiliary, whose combined membership exceeds two
million. We believe that our extensive national network enhances
purchasing scale and provides us with an advantage in selling
preneed funeral and cemetery products and services by allowing
us to offer our customers the ability to transfer their preneed
contracts to any of the providers in our network.
National brand. In 2000, SCI introduced the first
coast-to-coast funeral
service brand in North America, Dignity
Memorial®.
We believe that a national brand name is increasingly important
as North American consumers continue to become more
geographically mobile. We believe that consumers are less likely
now than they have been historically to live in the same
community as their parents and grandparents or to know a local
funeral director. By building favorable associations with the
Dignity
Memorial®
brand through funeral services, advertising and
community outreach programs we strive to create an
image of consistency, dependability and excellence that makes
consumers more likely to choose our providers. The Alderwoods
acquisition provides additional opportunities for us to expand
the Dignity
Memorial®
brand. In addition, we are currently developing a second brand,
Funeraria del
Angeltm,
to serve North Americas growing Hispanic population.
Innovative offerings. Using our Dignity
Memorial®
brand, we augment our range of traditional products and services
with more contemporary and comprehensive offerings. In addition
to a wide range of funeral, memorial, burial and cremation
options, we offer assistance with many of the legal and
administrative details that burden customers at times of loss.
We also offer grief counseling for survivors and a bereavement
travel program, which obtains special rates on airfare, car
rentals and hotel accommodations for family and friends
traveling from out of town to attend services, and an internet
memorialization. In addition, we offer packaged plans for
funerals and cremations that are designed to simplify customer
decision-making. Since our packaged plans were introduced in
2004, they have achieved consistently high customer satisfaction
ratings.
Reputation and service excellence. We believe that
we have established a strong reputation for consistency and
service excellence, which sets us apart from many of our
competitors, serves as a key advantage to attracting customers
and enhances our standing as an employer of choice within the
industry. Continuing our commitment to excellence, in 2004 we
established Dignity
Universitytm,
a virtual school for SCI employees at all levels. It offers a
comprehensive curriculum of professional development and ethics
training that is designed to help employees upgrade skills,
advance their careers and implement ethical standards at every
level of performance. We believe that the acquisition of
Alderwoods will allow us to expand and build our reputation for
service excellence.
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Our Strategies for Growth
In recent years, we have strengthened our balance sheet, lowered
our cost structure, introduced more efficient systems and
processes and strengthened our management team. We believe these
improvements, together with our acquisition of Alderwoods,
present us with significant opportunities to achieve future
growth. Our principal strategies are as follows:
Approach the business by customer preference. We
believe customer attitudes and preferences are essential to our
business. We are replacing the industrys traditional
one-size-fits-all service approach with a flexible operating and
marketing strategy that categorizes customers according to
personal needs and preferences. Using this new approach, we are
tailoring our product and service offerings based on four
variables:
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quality and prestige, |
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religious and ethnic customs, |
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convenience and location, and |
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price. |
By identifying customers based on these variables, we can focus
our resources on the most profitable customer categories and
improve our marketing effectiveness. We continue to refine our
pricing, product and marketing strategies to support this
approach.
Consistent with this strategy, we have begun to analyze existing
business relationships to determine whether they align with our
strategic goals. As a result, we made certain local business
decisions to exit unprofitable business relationships and
activities in 2005 and 2006, which resulted in an initial
decrease in the number of total funeral services performed.
However, we also experienced significant improvements in both
average revenue per funeral service and gross margins. We expect
these improvements to continue into the future as we redeploy
resources to more profitable areas. We continue to analyze our
existing operations, including those newly acquired in the
Alderwoods acquisition, and may exit certain business
relationships or activities that do not fit our customer
segmentation strategy.
Realign pricing to reflect current market environment.
We, along with our competitors in the deathcare
industry, have historically generated most of our profits from
the sale of traditional products (including caskets, vaults, and
markers), while placing less emphasis on the services involved
in funeral and burial preparation. However, due to increased
customer preference for comprehensive and personalized deathcare
services, as well as increased competition from retail outlets
(including on-line retailers) for the sale of traditional
products, we have realigned our pricing strategy from product to
service offerings in order to focus on services that are most
valued by customers. Our initial results from the realignment
strategy have been favorable based on increases in the overall
average revenue per funeral service performed. We are currently
evaluating the pricing of those locations acquired from
Alderwoods and expect to make adjustments in the future to
similarly align the pricing strategy for these locations as well.
Drive operating discipline and take advantage of our
scale. Although we have already made substantial
improvements in our infrastructure, we believe we can continue
to achieve operating improvements through centralization and
standardization of processes for staffing, central care, fleet
management and cemetery maintenance. The acquisition of
Alderwoods provides further opportunities for synergies and
operating efficiencies, which will allow us to utilize our scale
and increase profitability. We are developing clear, yet
flexible, operating standards that will be used as benchmarks
for productivity in these areas. In conjunction with these
standards, we will develop and track shared best practices to
support higher productivity. We also intend to continue to
capitalize on our nationwide network of properties by pursuing
strategic affinity partnerships. Over the longer term, we
believe these relationships can be important to potential
customers in their funeral home selection process.
Manage and grow the footprint. We are beginning to
manage our network of business locations by positioning each
business location to support the preferences of its local
customer base while monitoring
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each market for changing demographics and competitive dynamics.
We will primarily target customers who value quality and
prestige or adhere to specific religious or ethnic customs. In
addition, we expect to pursue selective business expansion
through construction or targeted acquisitions of cemeteries and
funeral homes with a focus on the highest return customer
categories. In particular, we will focus cemetery expansion
efforts on large cemeteries that are or may be combined with
funeral home operations, which would allow facility, personnel,
and equipment costs to be shared between the funeral service
location and the cemetery.
Other Developments
On March 23, 2007, we commenced cash tender offers to
purchase any and all of the outstanding principal amount of our
6.50% Notes due 2008 and 7.70% Notes due 2009. At the
end of the early participation period, we had received tenders
from holders of approximately $149.1 million aggregate
principal amount of our 6.50% Notes and approximately
$173.8 million aggregate principal amount of our 7.70%
Notes. We received additional tenders of approximately
$0.7 million on both notes at the end of the offer period.
The offers expired on April 20, 2007.
SCI was incorporated in Texas in July of 1962. Our principal
corporate offices are located at 1929 Allen Parkway,
Houston, Texas 77019 and our telephone number is
(713) 522-5141.
Our website is http://www.sci-corp.com.
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Summary of the Terms of the Exchange Offer
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The Exchange Offer |
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We are offering to exchange up to $400,000,000 aggregate
principal amount of the New Notes for up to $400,000,000
aggregate principal amount of the Old Notes. Old Notes may be
exchanged only in $1,000 increments. New Notes will be issued
only in minimum denominations of $1,000 and integral multiples
of $1,000. |
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The terms of the New 2015 Notes are identical in all material
respects to the Old 2015 Notes, and the terms of the New 2027
Notes are identical in all material respects to the Old 2027
Notes, except that the New Notes will not contain terms with
respect to transfer restrictions, registration rights and
payments of additional interest that relate to the Old Notes.
The New Notes and the Old Notes will be governed by the same
indenture, dated February 1, 1993. |
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Registration Rights Agreement |
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We issued an aggregate of $400,000,000 of the Old Notes on
April 9, 2007 to Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith
Incorporated, Banc of America Securities LLC, J.P. Morgan
Securities, Inc., Lehman Brothers Inc. and Raymond James &
Associates, Inc., the initial purchasers, under a purchase
agreement dated March 28, 2007. Pursuant to the purchase
agreement, we and the initial purchasers entered into two
separate registration rights agreements relating to the Old
Notes, pursuant to which we agreed to use our best efforts to
file and cause to be effective this exchange offer registration
statement with the Commission with respect to a registered offer
to exchange the Old Notes for the New Notes. We agreed to
consummate the exchange offer on or before the date that is
210 days after the original issue date of the Old Notes. In
the event we fail to fulfill our obligations under the
registration rights agreements, additional interest would accrue
on the Old Notes at an annual rate of 0.25% for the first
90 days, increasing by an additional 0.25% for each
subsequent 90-day period up to a maximum additional annual rate
of 1.00%. See Exchange Offer and Registration Rights. |
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Expiration Date |
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The exchange offer will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York
City time, on August 8, 2007, unless we extend the exchange
offer. See The Exchange Offer Expiration Date;
Extensions; Termination; Amendments. |
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Conditions to the Exchange Offer |
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The exchange offer is not subject to any conditions other than
that it does not violate applicable law or any applicable
interpretation of the staff of the Commission. |
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Procedures for Tendering Old Notes |
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If you wish to accept the exchange offer, sign and date the
letter of transmittal that was delivered with this prospectus in
accordance with the instructions, and deliver the letter of
transmittal, along with the Old Notes and any other required
documentation, to the exchange agent. Alternatively, you can
tender your outstanding Old Notes by following the procedures
for book-entry transfer, as described in this prospectus. By
executing the letter of transmittal or by transmitting an
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message in lieu thereof, you will represent to us that, among
other things: |
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the New Notes you receive will be acquired in the
ordinary course of your business; |
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you are not participating, and you have no
arrangement with any person or entity to participate, in the
distribution of the New Notes; |
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you are not our affiliate, as defined in
Rule 405 under the Securities Act, or a broker-dealer
tendering Old Notes acquired directly from us for resale
pursuant to Rule 144A or any other available exemption
under the Securities Act; and |
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if you are not a broker-dealer, that you are not
engaged in and do not intend to engage in the distribution of
the New Notes. |
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Special Procedures for Beneficial Owners |
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If you are a beneficial owner whose Old Notes are registered in
the name of a broker, dealer, commercial bank, trust company or
other nominee and wish to tender such Old Notes in the exchange
offer, please contact the registered holder as soon as possible
and instruct them to tender on your behalf and comply with our
instructions set forth elsewhere in this prospectus. |
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Guaranteed Delivery Procedures |
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If you wish to tender your Old Notes, you may, in certain
instances, do so according to the guaranteed delivery procedures
set forth elsewhere in this prospectus under The Exchange
Offer Procedures for Tendering Old Notes
Guaranteed Delivery. |
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Effect of Not Tendering |
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Old Notes that are not tendered or that are tendered but not
accepted will, following the completion of the exchange offer,
continue to be subject to the existing restrictions upon
transfer thereof. |
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Old 2015 Notes that are not tendered will bear interest at a
rate of 6.75% per annum. Old 2027 Notes that are not tendered
will bear interest at a rate of 7.50% per annum. |
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Withdrawal Rights |
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You may withdraw Old Notes that you tender pursuant to the
exchange offer by furnishing a written or facsimile transmission
notice of withdrawal to the exchange agent containing the
information set forth in The Exchange Offer
Withdrawal of Tenders at any time prior to the expiration
date. |
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Acceptance of Old Notes and Delivery of New Notes |
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We will accept for exchange any and all Old Notes that are
properly tendered in the exchange offer prior to the expiration
date. See The Exchange Offer Procedures for
Tendering Old Notes. The New Notes issued pursuant to the
exchange offer will be delivered promptly following the
expiration date. |
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Resale |
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We believe that you will be able to freely transfer the New
Notes without registration or any prospectus delivery
requirement; however, certain broker-dealers and certain of our
affiliates may be required to deliver copies of this prospectus
if they resell any New Notes. |
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Taxation |
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The exchange of Old Notes for New Notes will not be a taxable
event for United States federal income tax purposes. See
United States Federal Income Tax Consequences. |
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Broker-Dealers |
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Each broker-dealer that receives New Notes for its own
account pursuant to the Exchange Offer must acknowledge that it
will deliver a prospectus in connection with any resale of such
New Notes. The letter of transmittal states that by so
acknowledging and by delivering a prospectus, a broker-dealer
will not be deemed to admit that it is an
underwriter within the meaning of the Securities
Act. This prospectus, as it may be amended or supplemented from
time to time, may be used by a broker-dealer in connection with
resales of New Notes received in exchange for
Old Notes where such Old Notes were acquired by such
broker-dealer as a result of market-making activities or other
trading activities. See Plan of Distribution. |
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Exchange Agent and Information Agent |
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Global Bondholder Services Corporation is the exchange agent and
the information agent for the exchange offer. The address and
phone number of Global Bondholder Services Corporation are on
the inside of the back cover of this prospectus. |
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Summary of Terms of New Notes
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Issuer |
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Service Corporation International |
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New Notes |
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$200,000,000 aggregate principal amount of 6.75% Senior Notes
due 2015 and $200,000,000 aggregate principal amount of 7.50%
Senior Notes due 2027. |
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Maturity Dates |
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April 1, 2015 for the New 2015 Notes and April 1, 2027
for the New 2027 Notes. |
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Interest Rate |
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For the New 2015 Notes, 6.75% per annum, accruing from
April 9, 2007. For the New 2025 Notes, 7.50% per annum,
accruing from April 9, 2007. |
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Interest Payment Dates |
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April 1 and October 1, commencing on October 1,
2007. |
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Ranking |
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The New Notes will be our general unsecured obligations and will
rank equal in right of payment with all of our other
unsubordinated indebtedness and senior in right of payment to
any of our future subordinated indebtedness. The New Notes will
be effectively subordinated to all of our existing and future
secured indebtedness to the extent of the collateral securing
such indebtedness and to all indebtedness and other obligations
of our subsidiaries, whether or not secured. As of
March 31, 2007, we and our subsidiaries had approximately
$1.9 billion of indebtedness (excluding the notes covered
by this prospectus and letter of credit obligations), of which
$129 million represents our senior secured indebtedness and
the remainder represents our senior unsecured indebtedness. As
of March 31, 2007, our subsidiaries had approximately
$144 million of indebtedness (excluding guarantees of our
indebtedness, letter of credit obligations and intercompany
receivables). |
|
Change of Control |
|
Upon the occurrence of a change of control (as defined in
Description of the Notes ø Change of
Control), unless we have exercised our right to redeem all
of the New Notes of a series as described below, each holder of
the New Notes of that series may require us to repurchase such
holders New Notes, in whole or in part, at a purchase
price equal to 101% of the principal amount thereof plus accrued
and unpaid interest to the purchase date. |
|
Optional Redemption |
|
The New Notes will be redeemable in whole or in part, at our
option at any time, at redemption prices as set forth in this
prospectus under Description of the Notes
Optional Redemption, plus accrued and unpaid interest to
the redemption date. |
|
Restrictive Covenants |
|
We will issue the New Notes under the same indenture under which
the Old Notes were issued. The indenture contains covenants
limiting the creation of liens securing indebtedness and
sale-leaseback transactions. These covenants are subject to
important exceptions. See Risk Factors Risks
Related to Tendering Old Notes for New Notes The New
Notes lack subsidiary guarantees and some covenants typically
found in other comparably rated debt securities, and
Description of the Notes Covenants for
more information. |
8
|
|
|
Use of Proceeds |
|
We will not receive any proceeds from the exchange of the New
Notes for the outstanding Old Notes. |
|
Governing Law |
|
The New Notes will be, and the indenture is, governed by, and
construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of Texas. |
|
Trustee, Transfer Agent and Paying Agent |
|
The Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A. |
|
Book-Entry Depository |
|
The Depository Trust Company |
You should read the Risk Factors section
beginning on page 12, as well as the other cautionary
statements throughout this prospectus, to ensure you understand
the risks involved with the exchange of the New Notes for the
outstanding Old Notes.
9
Summary Historical Financial Information
The following table sets forth summary historical financial
information for each of the years in the five-year period ended
December 31, 2006 and the three months ended March 31,
2007 and 2006. The year-end information is derived from our
audited consolidated financial statements and the related notes
thereto. The quarterly information is derived from our unaudited
condensed consolidated financial statements.
The following table should be read together with our Annual
Report on
Form 10-K for the
year ended December 31, 2006 (the 2006
Form 10-K)
and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months
ended March 31, 2007, each of which is incorporated by
reference in this prospectus.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three Months | |
|
|
|
|
Ended March 31, | |
|
Years Ended December 31, | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
2007 | |
|
2006 | |
|
2006(1) | |
|
2005 | |
|
2004 | |
|
2003 | |
|
2002 | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
(Dollars in millions, except per share amounts) | |
Summary Consolidated Statements of Operations Data:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Revenue
|
|
$ |
607.6 |
|
|
$ |
442.0 |
|
|
$ |
1,747.3 |
|
|
$ |
1,711.0 |
|
|
$ |
1,825.7 |
|
|
$ |
2,308.9 |
|
|
$ |
2,289.0 |
|
Income (loss) from continuing operations before cumulative
effect of accounting changes
|
|
|
34.7 |
|
|
|
26.8 |
|
|
|
52.6 |
|
|
|
55.1 |
|
|
|
117.4 |
|
|
|
69.1 |
|
|
|
(91.5 |
) |
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax(2)
|
|
|
2.9 |
|
|
|
0.1 |
|
|
|
3.9 |
|
|
|
4.5 |
|
|
|
43.8 |
|
|
|
16.0 |
|
|
|
(8.4 |
) |
Cumulative effect of accounting changes, net of tax(3)(4)(5)(6)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(187.5 |
) |
|
|
(50.6 |
) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
(135.6 |
) |
Net income (loss)
|
|
$ |
37.6 |
|
|
$ |
26.9 |
|
|
$ |
56.5 |
|
|
$ |
(127.9 |
) |
|
$ |
110.7 |
|
|
$ |
85.1 |
|
|
$ |
(235.4 |
) |
Earnings (loss) per share:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Income (loss) from continuing operations before cumulative
effect of accounting changes
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Basic
|
|
$ |
0.12 |
|
|
$ |
0.09 |
|
|
$ |
.18 |
|
|
$ |
.18 |
|
|
$ |
.37 |
|
|
$ |
.23 |
|
|
$ |
(.31 |
) |
|
Diluted
|
|
$ |
0.12 |
|
|
$ |
0.09 |
|
|
$ |
.18 |
|
|
$ |
.18 |
|
|
$ |
.36 |
|
|
$ |
.23 |
|
|
$ |
(.31 |
) |
Net income (loss)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Basic
|
|
$ |
0.13 |
|
|
$ |
0.09 |
|
|
$ |
.19 |
|
|
$ |
(.42 |
) |
|
$ |
.35 |
|
|
$ |
.28 |
|
|
$ |
(.80 |
) |
|
Diluted
|
|
$ |
0.13 |
|
|
$ |
0.09 |
|
|
$ |
.19 |
|
|
$ |
(.42 |
) |
|
$ |
.34 |
|
|
$ |
.28 |
|
|
$ |
(.80 |
) |
Cash dividends declared per share
|
|
$ |
0.03 |
|
|
$ |
0.025 |
|
|
$ |
0.11 |
|
|
$ |
0.10 |
|
|
$ |
|
|
|
$ |
|
|
|
$ |
|
|
Summary Consolidated Balance Sheet Data
(at December 31):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total assets
|
|
$ |
9,749.7 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
$ |
9,729.4 |
|
|
$ |
7,544.8 |
|
|
$ |
8,227.2 |
|
|
$ |
7,571.2 |
|
|
$ |
7,801.8 |
|
Long-term debt (less current maturities),
including capital leases
|
|
$ |
1,768.6 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
$ |
1,912.7 |
|
|
$ |
1,186.5 |
|
|
$ |
1,200.4 |
|
|
$ |
1,530.1 |
|
|
$ |
1,885.2 |
|
Stockholders equity
|
|
$ |
1,653.5 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
$ |
1,594.8 |
|
|
$ |
1,581.6 |
|
|
$ |
1,843.0 |
|
|
$ |
1,516.3 |
|
|
$ |
1,318.9 |
|
Summary Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows Data:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net cash provided by operating activities
|
|
$ |
127.9 |
|
|
$ |
80.2 |
|
|
$ |
324.2 |
|
|
$ |
312.9 |
|
|
$ |
94.2 |
|
|
$ |
374.3 |
|
|
$ |
352.2 |
|
|
|
(1) |
Results for 2006 include operations acquired from Alderwoods
from November 28, 2006 to December 31, 2006. These
operations contributed $50.9 million to revenue,
$5.4 million to net income and $8.6 million to net
cash provided by operating activities during this period. For
more information regarding the Alderwoods acquisition, see
Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and
Supplementary Data, Note 5 in our 2006
Form 10-K. |
|
(2) |
Our operations in Singapore, which were sold in 2006, and in
Argentina, Uruguay and Chile, which were sold in 2005, have been
classified as discontinued operations for all periods presented.
For more |
10
|
|
|
information regarding discontinued operations, see Part II,
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data,
Note 21 in our 2006
Form 10-K. |
|
(3) |
Results for the 2007, 2006 and 2005 periods reflect our change
in accounting for direct selling costs related to preneed
funeral and cemetery contracts. Results for 2005 include a
$187.5 million charge, net of tax, for the cumulative
effect of this change. For more information regarding this
accounting change, see Part II, Item 8. Financial
Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 3 in our 2006
Form 10-K. |
|
(4) |
On March 18, 2004, we implemented revised Financial
Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Interpretation No. 46
(FIN 46R). Under the provisions of FIN 46R, we are
required to consolidate our preneed funeral and cemetery
merchandise and service trust assets, cemetery perpetual care
trusts, and certain cemeteries. As a result of this accounting
change, we recognized a cumulative effect charge of
$14.0 million, net of tax, in 2004. |
|
(5) |
Results for 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 reflect our change in
accounting for pension gains and losses. Results for 2004
include a $36.6 million charge, net of tax, for the
cumulative effect of this change. |
|
(6) |
Results for all periods presented reflect our change in
accounting for goodwill under Statement of Financial Accounting
Standard (SFAS) No. 142, Goodwill and Other
Intangible Assets (SFAS 142). Results for 2002 include
a $135.6 million charge, net of tax, for the cumulative
effect of this change. |
Ratio of Earnings to Fixed Charges
The following table sets forth SCIs consolidated ratio of
earnings to fixed charges for the periods shown:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three Months Ended | |
|
|
March 31, | |
|
Years Ended December 31, | |
| |
|
| |
2007 | |
|
2006 | |
|
2006 | |
|
2005 | |
|
2004 | |
|
2003 | |
|
2002 | |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
2.46 |
|
|
|
2.47 |
|
|
|
1.75 |
|
|
|
1.72 |
|
|
|
1.79 |
|
|
|
1.59 |
|
|
|
A |
|
|
|
A. |
During the year ended December 31, 2002, the ratio coverage
was less than 1:1. In order to achieve a coverage ratio of 1:1,
we would have had to generate additional income from continuing
operations before income taxes and cumulative effects of
accounting changes of $142.4 million for the year ended
December 31, 2002. |
11
RISK FACTORS
Before you decide to participate in the exchange offer, you
should read the risks, uncertainties and factors that may
adversely affect us that are discussed in the documents
incorporated by reference herein, as well as the following
additional risk factors.
Risks Related to Tendering Old Notes for New Notes
Because we are a holding company, your rights under the
New Notes will be effectively subordinated to the rights of
holders of our subsidiaries liabilities.
Because we are a holding company, our cash flow and ability to
service debt, including the New Notes, depend upon the
distribution of earnings, loans or other payments made by our
subsidiaries to us. Our subsidiaries are separate legal entities
and have no obligation with respect to the notes. In addition,
payment of dividends, distributions, loans or advances by our
subsidiaries to us could be subject to statutory or contractual
restrictions. The New Notes will be effectively subordinated to
all of the existing and future obligations of our subsidiaries.
Our senior credit facility and our Series A and
Series B notes due 2011 are guaranteed by our domestic
subsidiaries, which conduct substantially all of our operating
activities. As of March 31, 2007, our subsidiaries had
approximately $144 million of indebtedness, excluding
guarantees of our indebtedness, letter of credit obligations and
intercompany receivables.
The New Notes are unsecured and will be effectively
subordinated to all of our existing and future secured
obligations to the extent of the collateral securing such
obligations.
The New Notes are unsecured and will be effectively subordinated
to all of our existing and future secured obligations to the
extent of the collateral securing such obligations. As of
March 31, 2007, we had approximately $129 million of
secured indebtedness.
The New Notes lack subsidiary guarantees and some
covenants typically found in other comparably rated public debt
securities.
Although the New Notes are rated below investment grade by both
Standard & Poors and Moodys Investors Service,
they lack the protection of subsidiary guarantees and several
financial and other restrictive covenants typically associated
with comparably rated public debt securities, including:
|
|
|
|
|
incurrence of additional indebtedness; |
|
|
|
payment of dividends and other restricted payments; |
|
|
|
sale of assets and the use of proceeds therefrom; |
|
|
|
transactions with affiliates; and |
|
|
|
dividend and other payment restrictions affecting subsidiaries. |
We may not be able to purchase the New Notes upon a change
of control, which would result in a default under the indenture
governing the New Notes and would adversely affect our business
and financial condition.
Upon the occurrence of specific kinds of change of control
events, we must offer to purchase the New Notes at 101% of the
principal amount thereof plus accrued and unpaid interest to the
purchase date. We may not have sufficient funds available to
make any required repurchases of the New Notes. If we fail to
repurchase New Notes in that circumstance, we will be in default
under the indenture governing the New Notes and, in turn, under
our senior credit facility and any other indebtedness with
similar cross-default provisions. Our Series A and
Series B notes due 2011 aggregating $200 million in
principal amount and other senior notes issued by us in 2006
aggregating $500 million in principal amount have similar
repurchase rights upon a change of control.
12
In addition, certain change of control events would constitute
an event of default under our senior credit facility. A default
under our senior credit facility would result in an event of
default under the indenture and any other indebtedness with
similar cross-default provisions if the administrative agent or
the lenders accelerate our debt under our senior credit
facility. Upon the occurrence of a change of control we could
seek to refinance the indebtedness under our senior credit
facility, the New Notes and our other senior notes having
similar repurchase rights or obtain a waiver from the lenders or
the holders of such notes. We cannot assure you, however, that
we would be able to obtain a waiver or refinance our
indebtedness on commercially reasonable terms, if at all. Any
future debt that we incur may also affect our ability to repay
the New Notes upon a change of control. See Description of
the Notes Change of Control.
An active trading market for the New Notes may not
develop.
Prior to this offering, there was no market for the New Notes of
either series. Although we expect the New Notes to trade in The
PORTAL®
Market, the New Notes will not be listed on any securities
exchange or for quotation through any automated dealer quotation
system. Although the initial purchasers may make a market in
each series of New Notes after the completion of the exchange
offer, they are not obligated to do so and may discontinue any
such market making activities at any time without notice.
Accordingly, no assurance can be given as to the liquidity of,
or adequate trading markets for, the New Notes of either series.
If we breach any of the material financial covenants under
our various indentures, senior credit facility or guarantees,
our debt service obligations could be accelerated.
If we or any of our consolidated subsidiaries breach any of the
material financial covenants under our various indentures or our
senior credit facility, our substantial debt service
obligations, including the New Notes, could be accelerated.
Furthermore, any breach of any of the material financial
covenants under our senior credit facility could result in the
acceleration of the indebtedness of all of our subsidiaries. In
the event of any such simultaneous acceleration, we would not be
able to repay all of our indebtedness.
The restrictions contained in our various indentures do
not limit our ability to issue additional indebtedness.
We could enter into acquisitions, recapitalizations or other
transactions that could increase our outstanding indebtedness.
The indenture governing the New Notes does not limit our ability
to incur additional indebtedness. Although covenants under the
credit agreement governing our senior credit facility and under
our Series A and Series B notes due 2011 will limit
our ability and the ability of our present and future
subsidiaries to incur certain additional indebtedness, we are
permitted to incur significant additional indebtedness,
including unused availability under our senior credit facility.
Additionally, under the credit agreement, we are permitted to
pay dividends and repurchase stock, subject to certain
conditions. Issuing additional indebtedness could materially
impact our business by making it more difficult for us to
satisfy our obligations with respect to the New Notes;
increasing our vulnerability to general adverse economic and
industry conditions; limiting our ability to obtain additional
financing; requiring us to dedicate a substantial portion of our
cash flow from operations to payments on our indebtedness, which
will reduce the amount of our cash flow available for other
purposes, including capital expenditures and other general
corporate purposes; limiting our flexibility in planning for, or
reacting to, changes in our business and our industry; and
placing us at a possible competitive disadvantage compared to
our competitors that have less debt or the ability to use their
cash flows for such purposes as described above.
13
Risk Related to Continuing Ownership of the Old Notes
If you fail to exchange your outstanding Old Notes for New
Notes, you will continue to hold notes subject to transfer
restrictions.
We will only issue New Notes in exchange for outstanding Old
Notes that you timely and properly tender. Therefore, you should
allow sufficient time to ensure timely delivery of the
outstanding Old Notes and you should carefully follow the
instructions on how to tender your Old Notes set forth under
The Exchange Offer Procedures for Tendering
Old Notes and in the letter of transmittal that
accompanies this prospectus. Neither we nor the exchange agent
are required to notify you of any defects or irregularities
relating to your tender of outstanding Old Notes.
If you do not exchange your outstanding Old Notes for New Notes
in this exchange offer, the outstanding Old Notes you hold will
continue to be subject to the existing transfer restrictions. In
general, you may not offer or sell the outstanding Old Notes
except under an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject
to, the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. We
do not plan to register the outstanding Old Notes under the
Securities Act. If you continue to hold any outstanding Old
Notes after this exchange offer is completed, you may have
trouble selling them because of these restrictions on transfer.
The trading market for unexchanged Old Notes could be
limited.
The trading market for unexchanged Old Notes could become
significantly more limited after the exchange offer due to the
reduction in the amount of Old Notes outstanding upon
consummation of the exchange offer. Therefore, if your Old Notes
are not exchanged for New Notes in the exchange offer, it may
become more difficult for you to sell or otherwise transfer your
Old Notes. This reduction in liquidity may in turn reduce the
market price, and increase the price volatility, of the Old
Notes. There is a risk that an active trading market in the
unexchanged Old Notes will not exist, develop or be maintained
and we cannot give you any assurances regarding the prices at
which the unexchanged Old Notes may trade in the future.
Risks Related to our Business
Our ability to execute our business plan depends on many
factors, many of which are beyond our control.
Our strategic plan is focused on cost management and the
development of key revenue initiatives designed to generate
future internal growth in our core funeral and cemetery
operations. Many of the factors necessary for the execution of
our strategic plan, such as the number of deaths, are beyond our
control. We cannot give assurance that we will be able to
execute any or all of our strategic plan. Failure to execute any
or all of the strategic plan could have a material adverse
effect on our financial condition, results of operations, or
cash flows.
We may fail to realize the anticipated benefits of the
acquisition of Alderwoods.
The success of the acquisition of Alderwoods will depend, in
part, on our ability to realize the anticipated cost savings
from shared corporate and administrative areas, the
rationalization of duplicative expenses, and the realization of
revenue growth opportunities. However, to realize the
anticipated benefits from the acquisition, we must successfully
combine the businesses in a manner that permits those costs
savings and revenue increases to be realized. If we are not able
to successfully achieve these objectives, the anticipated
benefits of the acquisition may not be realized fully or at all
or may take longer or cost more to realize than expected. It is
possible that the integration process could result in the loss
of valuable employees, the disruption of ongoing businesses or
inconsistencies in standards, controls, procedures, practices,
and policies that could adversely impact our operations.
14
The integration of Alderwoods may prove disruptive and
could result in the combined business failing to meet our
expectations.
The process of integrating the operations of Alderwoods may
require a disproportionate amount of resources and management
attention. Our future operations and cash flow will depend
largely upon our ability to operate the former Alderwoods
locations efficiently, achieve the strategic operating
objectives for our business and realize significant cost savings
and synergies. Our management team may encounter unforeseen
difficulties in managing the integration. In order to
successfully combine and operate our businesses, our management
team will need to focus on realizing anticipated synergies,
revenue increases, and cost savings on a timely basis while
maintaining the efficiency of our operations. Any substantial
diversion of management attention or difficulties in operating
the combined business could affect our revenues and ability to
achieve operational, financial, and strategic objectives.
Our senior credit facility and Series A and
Series B notes due 2011 contain covenants that may prevent
us from engaging in certain transactions.
Our senior credit facility and Series A and Series B
notes due 2011 contain, among other things, various affirmative
and negative covenants that may prevent us from engaging in
certain transactions that might otherwise be considered
beneficial to us. These covenants limit, among other things, our
and our subsidiaries ability to:
|
|
|
|
|
Incur additional secured indebtedness (including guarantee
obligations); |
|
|
|
Create liens on assets; |
|
|
|
Engage in certain transactions with affiliates; |
|
|
|
Enter into sale-leaseback transactions; |
|
|
|
Engage in mergers, liquidations, and dissolutions; |
|
|
|
Sell assets; |
|
|
|
Enter into leases; |
|
|
|
Pay dividends, distributions, and other payments in respect of
capital stock and purchase our capital stock in the open market; |
|
|
|
Make investments, loans, or advances; |
|
|
|
Repay subordinated indebtedness or amend the agreements relating
thereto; |
|
|
|
Change our fiscal year; |
|
|
|
Create restrictions on our ability to receive distributions from
subsidiaries; and |
|
|
|
Change our lines of business. |
Our senior credit facility and the Series A and Series B notes
due 2011 also require us to maintain certain leverage and
interest coverage ratios.
If we lost the ability to use surety bonding to support
our preneed funeral and preneed cemetery activities, we could
have to make material cash payments to fund certain trust
funds.
We have entered into arrangements with certain surety companies
whereby such companies agree to issue surety bonds on our behalf
as financial assurance or as required by existing state and
local regulations. The surety bonds are used for various
business purposes; however, the majority of the surety bonds
issued and outstanding have been issued to support our preneed
funeral and cemetery activities. In the event all of the surety
companies cancelled or did not renew our surety bonds, which are
generally renewed for twelve-month periods, we would be required
to either obtain replacement coverage or fund approximately
$277.5 million as of March 31, 2007 into
state-mandated trust accounts.
15
The funeral home and cemetery industry continues to be
increasingly competitive.
In North America, the funeral and cemetery industry is
characterized by a large number of locally owned, independent
operations. To compete successfully, our funeral service
locations and cemeteries must maintain good reputations and high
professional standards in the industry, as well as offer
attractive products and services at competitive prices. In
addition, we must market the Company in such a manner as to
distinguish us from our competitors. We have historically
experienced price competition from independent funeral home and
cemetery operators, monument dealers, casket retailers, low-cost
funeral providers, and other non-traditional providers of
services and merchandise. If we are unable to successfully
compete, our financial condition, results of operations and cash
flows could be materially adversely affected.
Our affiliated funeral and cemetery trust funds own
investments in equity securities, fixed income securities and
mutual funds, which are affected by financial market conditions
that are beyond our control.
In connection with our preneed funeral and preneed cemetery
merchandise and service sales, most affiliated funeral and
cemetery trust funds own investments in equity securities and
mutual funds. Our earnings and investment gains and losses on
these equity securities and mutual funds are affected by
financial market conditions that are beyond our control.
As of March 31, 2007 and December 31, 2006, net
unrealized appreciation in the preneed funeral and cemetery
merchandise and services trust funds amounted to
$41.3 million and $71.3 million and $40.6 million
and $70.3 million, respectively. Our perpetual care trust
funds had net unrealized appreciation of $38.6 million and
$41.1 million as of March 31, 2007 and
December 31, 2006. The following table summarizes the
investment returns excluding fees on our trust funds for the
last three years, and the first quarter of 2007 and 2006.
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2006 | |
|
2005 | |
|
2004 | |
|
Q1 2007 | |
|
Q1 2006 | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
Preneed funeral trust funds
|
|
|
8.8 |
% |
|
|
6.6 |
% |
|
|
7.1 |
% |
|
|
2.2 |
% |
|
|
2.9 |
% |
Cemetery merchandise and services trust funds
|
|
|
8.4 |
% |
|
|
6.9 |
% |
|
|
6.7 |
% |
|
|
2.0 |
% |
|
|
2.7 |
% |
Perpetual care trust funds
|
|
|
10.8 |
% |
|
|
3.9 |
% |
|
|
8.6 |
% |
|
|
2.0 |
% |
|
|
1.9 |
% |
If earnings from our trust funds decline, we would likely
experience a decline in future revenues. In addition, if the
trust funds experienced significant investment losses, there
could be insufficient funds in the trusts to cover the costs of
delivering services and merchandise or maintaining cemeteries in
the future. We would have to cover any such shortfall with cash
flows from operations, which could have a material adverse
effect on our financial condition, results of operations, or
cash flows.
Increasing death benefits related to preneed funeral
contracts funded through life insurance or annuity contracts may
not cover future increases in the cost of providing a price
guaranteed funeral service.
We sell price-guaranteed preneed funeral contracts through
various programs providing for future funeral services at prices
prevailing when the agreements are signed. For preneed funeral
contracts funded through life insurance or annuity contracts, we
receive in cash a general agency commission that typically
averages approximately 16% of the total sale from the third
party insurance company. Additionally, there is an increasing
death benefit associated with the contract of approximately
1% per year to be received in cash at the time the funeral
is performed. There is no guarantee that the increasing death
benefit will cover future increases in the cost of providing a
price-guaranteed funeral service, which could materially
adversely affect our future cash flows, revenues, and operating
margins.
Unfavorable results of litigation could have a material
adverse impact on our financial statements.
We are subject to a variety of claims and lawsuits in the
ordinary course of our business. For more information regarding
these claims and lawsuits, see Part II, Item 8.
Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Note 15 in our
2006 Form 10-K and
Part I, Item 1. Financial Statements, Note 15
16
in our March 31, 2007
Form 10-Q. Adverse
outcomes in some or all of the pending cases may result in
significant monetary damages or injunctive relief against us.
While management currently believes that resolving all of these
matters, individually or in the aggregate, will not have a
material adverse impact on our financial position or results of
operations, litigation and other claims are subject to inherent
uncertainties and managements view of these matters may
change in the future. There exists the possibility of a material
adverse impact on our financial position and the results of
operations for the period in which the effect of an unfavorable
final outcome becomes probable and reasonably estimable.
If the number of deaths in our markets declines, our cash
flows and revenues may decrease.
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|
|
If the number of deaths declines, the number of funeral services
and interments performed by us could decrease and our financial
condition, results of operations and cash flows could be
materially adversely affected. |
The continuing upward trend in the number of cremations
performed in North America could result in lower revenue and
gross profit dollars.
There is a continuing upward trend in the number of cremations
performed in North America as an alternative to traditional
funeral service dispositions. However, we have seen a recent
reversal in the upward trend in our businesses as our strategic
pricing initiative and discounting policies have resulted in a
decline in highly-discounted, low-service cremation customers.
In our operations in North America during the first quarter of
2007, 41.7% of the comparable funeral services we performed were
cremation cases compared to 42.1% performed in the first quarter
of 2006. In our operations in North America during 2006 and
2005, 40.9% of the comparable funeral services we performed were
cremation cases compared to 39.6% performed in 2004,
respectively. We expect this trend to continue in the near term.
We also continue to expand our cremation memorialization
products and services which has resulted in higher average sales
for cremation services. If we are unable to successfully expand
our cremation memorialization products and services, and
cremations continue to be a significant percentage of our
funeral services, our financial condition, results of
operations, and cash flows could be materially adversely
affected.
The funeral home and cemetery businesses are high
fixed-cost businesses.
The majority of our operations are managed in groups called
markets. Markets are geographical groups of funeral
service locations and cemeteries that share common resources
such as operating personnel, preparation services, clerical
staff, motor vehicles and preneed sales personnel. Personnel
costs, the largest of our operating expenses, are the cost
components most beneficially affected by this grouping. We must
incur many of these costs regardless of the number of funeral
services or interments performed. Because we cannot necessarily
decrease these costs when we experience lower sales volumes, a
sales decline may cause margin percentages to decline at a
greater rate than the decline in revenues.
Regulation and compliance could have a material adverse
impact on our financial results.
Our operations are subject to regulation, supervision, and
licensing under numerous foreign, federal, state, and local
laws, ordinances and regulations, including extensive
regulations concerning trust funds, preneed sales of funeral and
cemetery products and services, and various other aspects of our
business. The impact of such regulations varies depending on the
location of our funeral and cemetery operations. Violations of
applicable laws could result in fines or sanctions to us.
In addition, from time to time, governments and agencies propose
to amend or add regulations, which would increase costs and
decrease cash flows. For example, foreign, federal, state, local
and other regulatory agencies have considered and may enact
additional legislation or regulations that could affect the
deathcare industry, such as regulations that require more
liberal refund and cancellation policies for preneed sales of
products and services, limit or eliminate our ability to use
surety bonding, increase trust requirements, and/or prohibit the
common ownership of funeral homes and cemeteries in the same
17
market. If adopted by the regulatory authorities of the
jurisdictions in which we operate, these and other possible
proposals could have a material adverse effect on our financial
condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Compliance with laws, regulations, industry standards, and
customs concerning burial procedures and the handling and care
of human remains is critical to our continued success.
Litigation and regulatory proceedings regarding these issues
could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition,
results of operations, and cash flows. We are continually
monitoring and reviewing our operations in an effort to insure
that we are in compliance with these laws, regulations, and
standards and, where appropriate, taking appropriate corrective
action.
A number of years may elapse before particular tax
matters, for which we have established accruals, are audited and
finally resolved.
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|
|
The number of tax years with open tax audits varies depending on
the tax jurisdiction. In the United States, the Internal Revenue
Service is currently examining our tax returns for 1999 through
2004 and various state jurisdictions are auditing years through
2005. While it is often difficult to predict the final outcome
or the timing of resolution of any particular tax matter, we
believe that our accruals reflect the probable outcome of known
tax contingencies. Unfavorable settlement of any particular
issue would reduce a deferred tax asset or require the use of
cash. Favorable resolution could result in reduced income tax
expense reported in the financial statements in the future. |
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
We make forward-looking statements within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 in this
prospectus and in the documents incorporated by reference
herein. These statements may be accompanied by words such as
believe, estimate, project,
expect, anticipate or
predict that convey the uncertainty of future events
or outcomes. These statements are based on assumptions that we
believe are reasonable; however, many important factors could
cause our actual results in the future to differ materially from
the forward-looking statements made in this prospectus and in
any other documents incorporated by reference herein. In
addition to the factors described in this prospectus under
Risk Factors Risks Related to Our
Business and those set forth from time to time in our
filings with the Commission, important factors that could cause
our actual results to differ materially from those in
forward-looking statements include, among others, the following:
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|
|
|
|
changes in general economic conditions, both domestically and
internationally, impacting financial markets (e.g., marketable
security values, as well as currency and interest rate
fluctuations) that could negatively affect us, particularly, but
not limited to, levels of trust fund income, interest expense,
pension expense and negative currency translation effects. |
|
|
|
our ability to successfully integrate Alderwoods or that the
anticipated benefits of the acquisition are not fully realized. |
|
|
|
our ability to consummate planned divestitures, including
divestitures resulting from the Alderwoods acquisition, and
realize the anticipated proceeds within the anticipated time
frame. |
|
|
|
the outcomes of pending lawsuits and proceedings against us and
the possibility that insurance coverage is deemed not to apply
to these matters or that an insurance carrier is unable to pay
any covered amounts to us. |
|
|
|
the amounts payable by us with respect to our outstanding legal
matters exceeding our established reserves. |
|
|
|
the outcome of a pending Internal Revenue Service audit. We
maintain accruals for tax liabilities which relate to uncertain
tax matters. If these tax matters are unfavorably resolved, we
will be required to make any required payments to tax
authorities. If these tax matters are favorably |
18
|
|
|
|
|
resolved, the accruals maintained by us will no longer be
required and these amounts will primarily be reversed through
the tax provision at the time of resolution. |
|
|
|
our ability to manage changes in consumer demand and/or pricing
for our products and services due to several factors, such as
changes in numbers of deaths, cremation rates, competitive
pressures and local economic conditions. |
|
|
|
changes in domestic and international political and/or
regulatory environments in which we operate, including potential
changes in tax, accounting and trusting policies. |
|
|
|
changes in credit relationships impacting the availability of
credit and the general availability of credit in the marketplace. |
|
|
|
our ability to successfully access surety and insurance markets
at a reasonable cost. |
|
|
|
our ability to successfully leverage our substantial purchasing
power with certain of our vendors. |
|
|
|
the effectiveness of our internal control over financial
reporting, and our ability to certify the effectiveness of our
internal control over financial reporting and to obtain an
unqualified attestation report of our auditors regarding the
effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. |
|
|
|
our senior credit facility and Series A and Series B
notes due 2011 contain covenants that may prevent us from
engaging in certain transactions. |
We assume no obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statements made in this prospectus or elsewhere
to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this
prospectus.
19
USE OF PROCEEDS
This exchange offer is intended to satisfy our obligations under
the registration rights agreements entered into in connection
with our issuance of the Old Notes. We received aggregate net
proceeds of approximately $392.7 million from the issuance
of the Old Notes after deducting the initial purchasers
discounts and estimated offering expenses. We intend to use the
net proceeds, together with available cash, to retire our 6.50%
Notes due 2008 and 7.70% Notes due 2009.
We will not receive any cash proceeds from the issuance of the
New Notes. We will exchange outstanding Old Notes for New Notes
in like principal amount as contemplated in this prospectus. The
terms of the New Notes are identical in all material respects to
the existing Old Notes except as otherwise described herein
under Description of the Notes. The Old Notes
surrendered in exchange for the New Notes will be retired and
canceled and cannot be reissued. Accordingly, issuance of the
New Notes will not result in a change in our total debt and
other financing obligations.
CAPITALIZATION
The following table sets forth our cash and cash equivalents and
capitalization as of March 31, 2007 on an As Reported
basis, on an As Adjusted basis and an As Further Adjusted basis:
(i) As Adjusted. For purposes of the As Adjusted
capitalization, we assumed the sale of $400 million of our
Old Notes was completed as of March 31, 2007 and have
adjusted for the issuance of the Old Notes and the receipt of
cash in connection therewith, net of the initial
purchasers discount and estimated offering expenses.
(ii) As Further Adjusted. The As Further Adjusted
capitalization reflects the adjustments discussed in
(i) above and further assumes (a) the purchase of
$149.8 million aggregate principal amount of our 6.50%
Notes due 2008 pursuant to our tender offer for such notes, for
aggregate consideration of $151.3 million and (b) the
purchase of $173.9 million aggregate principal amount of
our 7.70% Notes due 2009, pursuant to our tender offer for such
notes for aggregate consideration of $182.4 million, in
each case excluding accrued interest. We have assumed the tender
offers were completed as of March 31, 2007 at the values
above and have adjusted for the extinguishment of
$149.8 million of our 6.50% Notes and $173.9 million
of our 7.70% Notes, the loss on the tender offers, and the
payment of accrued interest, premium and the related fees and
expenses of the tender offers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
As of March 31, 2007 | |
|
|
| |
|
|
As | |
|
As | |
|
As Further | |
|
|
Reported | |
|
Adjusted | |
|
Adjusted | |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
(Dollars in thousands and unaudited) | |
Cash and cash equivalents
|
|
$ |
78,093 |
|
|
$ |
470,759 |
|
|
$ |
130,021 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Debt:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
6.50% Notes due 2008
|
|
$ |
195,000 |
|
|
$ |
195,000 |
|
|
$ |
45,209 |
|
|
7.70% Notes due 2009
|
|
|
202,588 |
|
|
|
202,588 |
|
|
|
28,731 |
|
|
6.75% Notes due 2015
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
200,000 |
|
|
|
200,000 |
|
|
7.50% Notes due 2027
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
200,000 |
|
|
|
200,000 |
|
|
Other debt
|
|
|
1,470,166 |
|
|
|
1,469,332 |
|
|
|
1,470,345 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total debt
|
|
|
1,867,754 |
|
|
|
2,266,920 |
|
|
|
1,944,285 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Stockholders equity:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Common stock
|
|
|
294,795 |
|
|
|
294,795 |
|
|
|
294,795 |
|
|
Capital in excess of par value
|
|
|
2,138,808 |
|
|
|
2,138,808 |
|
|
|
2,138,808 |
|
|
Accumulated deficit
|
|
|
(856,765 |
) |
|
|
(856,765 |
) |
|
|
(864,163 |
) |
|
Accumulated other comprehensive income
|
|
|
76,704 |
|
|
|
76,704 |
|
|
|
76,704 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total stockholders equity
|
|
|
1,653,542 |
|
|
|
1,653,542 |
|
|
|
1,646,144 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total capitalization
|
|
$ |
3,521,296 |
|
|
$ |
3,920,462 |
|
|
$ |
3,590,429 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
20
RATIO OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES
The following table sets forth SCIs consolidated ratio of
earnings to fixed charges for the periods shown:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three Months | |
|
|
Ended March 31, | |
|
Years Ended December 31, | |
| |
|
| |
2007 | |
|
2006 | |
|
2006 | |
|
2005 | |
|
2004 | |
|
2003 | |
|
2002 | |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
2.46 |
|
|
|
2.47 |
|
|
|
1.75 |
|
|
|
1.72 |
|
|
|
1.79 |
|
|
|
1.59 |
|
|
|
A |
|
|
|
A. |
During the year ended December 31, 2002, the ratio coverage
was less than 1:1. In order to achieve a coverage ratio of 1:1,
we would have had to generate additional income from continuing
operations before income taxes and cumulative effects of
accounting changes of $142.4 million for the year ended
December 31, 2002. |
21
THE EXCHANGE OFFER
Exchange Terms
Old Notes in an aggregate principal amount of $400,000,000 are
currently issued and outstanding. The maximum aggregate
principal amount of New Notes that will be issued in exchange
for Old Notes is $400,000,000. The terms of the New 2015 Notes
are identical in all material respects to the Old 2015 Notes,
and the terms of the New 2027 Notes are identical in all
material respects to the Old 2027 Notes, except that the New
Notes will not contain terms with respect to transfer
restrictions, registration rights and payments of additional
interest that relate to the Old Notes.
The New 2015 Notes will bear interest at a rate of 6.75% per
year, payable semi-annually in arrears on April 1 and
October 1, commencing on October 1, 2007. The New 2027
Notes will bear interest at a rate of 7.50% per year, payable
semi-annually in arrears on April 1 and October 1,
commencing on October 1, 2007. Holders of New Notes will
receive interest from the date of the original issuance of the
Old Notes. Holders of New Notes will not receive any interest on
Old Notes tendered and accepted for exchange. In order to
exchange your Old Notes for New Notes in the exchange offer, you
will be required to make the following representations, which
are included in the letter of transmittal:
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|
|
the New Notes that you receive will be acquired in the ordinary
course of your business; |
|
|
|
you are not participating, and have no arrangement or
understanding with any person or entity to participate, in the
distribution of the New Notes; |
|
|
|
you are not our affiliate, as defined in
Rule 405 of the Securities Act, or a broker-dealer
tendering Old Notes acquired directly from us for resale
pursuant to Rule 144A or any other available exemption
under the Securities Act; and |
|
|
|
if you are not a broker-dealer, that you are not engaged in and
do not intend to engage in the distribution of the
New Notes. |
Upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in this
prospectus and in the letter of transmittal, we will accept for
exchange any Old Notes properly tendered in the exchange offer,
and the exchange agent will deliver the New Notes promptly after
the expiration date of the exchange offer.
If you tender your Old Notes, you will not be required to pay
brokerage commissions or fees or, subject to the instructions in
the letter of transmittal, transfer taxes with respect to the
exchange of the Old Notes in connection with the exchange offer.
We will pay all charges, expenses and transfer taxes in
connection with the exchange offer, other than the taxes
described below under
Transfer Taxes.
We make no recommendation to you as to whether you should
tender or refrain from tendering all or any portion of your
existing Old Notes into this exchange offer. In addition, no one
has been authorized to make this recommendation. You must make
your own decision whether to tender into this exchange offer
and, if so, the aggregate amount of Old Notes to tender after
reading this prospectus and the letter of transmittal and
consulting with your advisors, if any, based on your financial
position and requirements.
Expiration Date; Extensions; Termination; Amendments
The exchange offer expires at 5:00 p.m., New York City
time, on August 8, 2007, unless we extend the exchange
offer, in which case the expiration date will be the latest date
and time to which we extend the exchange offer.
We expressly reserve the right, so long as applicable law allows:
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|
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|
|
to delay our acceptance of Old Notes for exchange; |
|
|
|
to terminate the exchange offer if any of the conditions set
forth under Conditions of the Exchange
Offer exist; |
22
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|
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|
|
to waive any condition to the exchange offer; |
|
|
|
to amend any of the terms of the exchange offer; and |
|
|
|
to extend the expiration date and retain all Old Notes tendered
in the exchange offer, subject to your right to withdraw your
tendered Old Notes as described under
Withdrawal of Tenders. |
Any waiver or amendment to the exchange offer will apply to all
Old Notes tendered, regardless of when or in what order the Old
Notes were tendered. If the exchange offer is amended in a
manner that we think constitutes a material change, or if we
waive a material condition of the exchange offer, we will
promptly disclose the amendment or waiver by means of a
prospectus supplement that will be distributed to the registered
holders of the Old Notes, and we will extend the exchange offer
to the extent required by
Rule 14e-1 under
the Exchange Act.
We will promptly follow any delay in acceptance, termination,
extension or amendment by oral or written notice of the event to
the exchange agent, followed promptly by oral or written notice
to the registered holders. Should we choose to delay, extend,
amend or terminate the exchange offer, we will have no
obligation to publish, advertise or otherwise communicate this
announcement, other than by making a timely release to an
appropriate news agency.
In the event we terminate the exchange offer, all Old Notes
previously tendered and not accepted for payment will be
returned promptly to the tendering holders.
In the event that the exchange offer is withdrawn or otherwise
not completed, New Notes will not be given to holders of Old
Notes who have validly tendered their Old Notes.
Resale of New Notes
Based on interpretations of the Commission staff set forth in no
action letters issued to third parties, we believe that New
Notes issued under the exchange offer in exchange for Old Notes
may be offered for resale, resold and otherwise transferred by
you without compliance with the registration and prospectus
delivery requirements of the Securities Act, if:
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|
|
you are acquiring New Notes in the ordinary course of your
business; |
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|
|
you are not participating, and have no arrangement or
understanding with any person or entity to participate, in the
distribution of the New Notes; |
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|
|
you are not our affiliate within the meaning of
Rule 405 under the Securities Act; and |
|
|
|
you are not a broker-dealer who purchased Old Notes directly
from us for resale pursuant to Rule 144A or any other
available exemption under the Securities Act. |
If you tender Old Notes in the exchange offer with the intention
of participating in any manner in a distribution of the
New Notes:
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|
|
you cannot rely on those interpretations by the Commission
staff, and |
|
|
|
you must comply with the registration and prospectus delivery
requirements of the Securities Act in connection with a
secondary resale transaction and such a secondary resale
transaction must be covered by an effective registration
statement containing the selling security holder information
required by Item 507 or 508, as applicable, of
Regulation S-K. |
Only broker-dealers that acquired the Old Notes as a result of
market-making activities or other trading activities may
participate in the exchange offer. Each broker-dealer that
receives New Notes for its own account in exchange for Old
Notes, where such Old Notes were acquired by such broker-dealer
as a result of market-making activities or other trading
activities, must acknowledge that it will deliver a prospectus
in connection with any resale of the New Notes. Please read the
section captioned Plan of Distribution for more
details regarding the transfer of New Notes.
23
Acceptance of Old Notes for Exchange
We will accept for exchange Old Notes validly tendered pursuant
to the exchange offer, or defectively tendered, if such defect
has been waived by us. We will not accept Old Notes for exchange
subsequent to the expiration date of the exchange offer. Tenders
of Old Notes will be accepted only in denominations
of $1,000 and integral multiples thereof.
We expressly reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to:
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|
|
delay acceptance for exchange of Old Notes tendered under the
exchange offer, subject to
Rule 14e-1 under
the Exchange Act, which requires that an offeror pay the
consideration offered or return the securities deposited by or
on behalf of the holders promptly after the termination or
withdrawal of a tender offer, or |
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|
terminate the exchange offer and not accept for exchange any Old
Notes not theretofore accepted for exchange, if any of the
conditions set forth below under Conditions of
the Exchange Offer have not been satisfied or waived by us
or in order to comply in whole or in part with any applicable
law. In all cases, New Notes will be issued only after timely
receipt by the exchange agent of certificates representing Old
Notes, or confirmation of book-entry transfer, a properly
completed and duly executed letter of transmittal, or a manually
signed facsimile thereof, and any other required documents. For
purposes of the exchange offer, we will be deemed to have
accepted for exchange validly tendered Old Notes, or defectively
tendered Old Notes with respect to which we have waived such
defect, if, as and when we give oral, confirmed in writing, or
written notice to the exchange agent. Promptly after the
expiration date, we will deposit the New Notes with the exchange
agent, who will act as agent for the tendering holders for the
purpose of receiving the New Notes and transmitting them to the
holders. The exchange agent will deliver the New Notes to
holders of Old Notes accepted for exchange after the exchange
agent receives the New Notes. |
If, for any reason, we delay acceptance for exchange of validly
tendered Old Notes or we are unable to accept for exchange
validly tendered Old Notes, then the exchange agent may,
nevertheless, on our behalf, retain tendered Old Notes, without
prejudice to our rights described under
Expiration Date; Extensions; Termination;
Amendments, Conditions of the Exchange
Offer and Withdrawal of Tenders,
subject to
Rule 14e-1 under
the Exchange Act, which requires that an offeror pay the
consideration offered or return the securities deposited by or
on behalf of the holders thereof promptly after the termination
or withdrawal of a tender offer.
If any tendered Old Notes are not accepted for exchange for any
reason, or if certificates are submitted evidencing more Old
Notes than those that are tendered, certificates evidencing Old
Notes that are not exchanged will be returned, without expense,
to the tendering holder, or, in the case of Old Notes tendered
by book-entry transfer into the exchange agents account at
a book-entry transfer facility under the procedure set forth
under Procedures for Tendering Old
Notes Book-Entry Transfer, such Old Notes will
be credited to the account maintained at such book-entry
transfer facility from which such Old Notes were delivered,
unless otherwise requested by such holder under Special
Delivery Instructions in the letter of transmittal,
promptly following the expiration date or the termination of the
exchange offer.
Tendering holders of Old Notes exchanged in the exchange offer
will not be obligated to pay brokerage commissions or transfer
taxes with respect to the exchange of their Old Notes other than
as described in Transfer Taxes or in
Instruction 7 to the letter of transmittal. We will pay all
other charges and expenses in connection with the exchange offer.
Procedures for Tendering Old Notes
Any beneficial owner whose Old Notes are registered in the name
of a broker, dealer, commercial bank, trust company or other
nominee or held through a book-entry transfer facility and who
wishes to tender Old Notes should contact such registered holder
promptly and instruct such registered holder to tender Old Notes
on such beneficial owners behalf.
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Tender of Old Notes Held Through Depository Trust
Company |
The exchange agent and Depository Trust Company (DTC) have
confirmed that the exchange offer is eligible for the DTCs
automated tender offer program. Accordingly, DTC participants
may electronically transmit their acceptance of the exchange
offer by causing DTC to transfer Old Notes to the exchange agent
in accordance with DTCs automated tender offer program
procedures for transfer. DTC will then send an agents
message to the exchange agent.
The term agents message means a message
transmitted by DTC, received by the exchange agent and forming
part of the book-entry confirmation, which states that DTC has
received an express acknowledgment from the participant in DTC
tendering Old Notes that are the subject of that book-entry
confirmation that the participant has received and agrees to be
bound by the terms of the letter of transmittal, and that we may
enforce such agreement against such participant. In the case of
an agents message relating to guaranteed delivery, the
term means a message transmitted by DTC and received by the
exchange agent which states that DTC has received an express
acknowledgment from the participant in DTC tendering Old Notes
that they have received and agree to be bound by the notice of
guaranteed delivery.
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Tender of Old Notes Held in Certificated Form |
For a holder to validly tender Old Notes held in certificated
form:
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the exchange agent must receive at its address set forth in this
prospectus a properly completed and validly executed letter of
transmittal, or a manually signed facsimile thereof, together
with any signature guarantees and any other documents required
by the instructions to the letter of transmittal, and |
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the exchange agent must receive certificates for tendered Old
Notes at such address, or such Old Notes must be transferred
pursuant to the procedures for book-entry transfer described
below. A confirmation of such book-entry transfer must be
received by the exchange agent prior to the expiration date of
the exchange offer. A holder who desires to tender Old Notes and
who cannot comply with the procedures set forth herein for
tender on a timely basis or whose Old Notes are not immediately
available must comply with the procedures for guaranteed
delivery set forth below. |
Letters of Transmittal and Old Notes should be sent only to
the exchange agent, and not to us or to DTC.
The method of delivery of Old Notes, Letters of Transmittal
and all other required documents to the exchange agent is at the
election and risk of the holder tendering Old Notes. Delivery of
such documents will be deemed made only when actually received
by the exchange agent. If such delivery is by mail, we suggest
that the holder use property insured, registered mail with
return receipt requested, and that the mailing be made
sufficiently in advance of the expiration date of the exchange
offer to permit delivery to the exchange agent prior to such
date. No alternative, conditional or contingent tenders of Old
Notes will be accepted.
Signatures on the letter of transmittal must be guaranteed by an
eligible institution unless:
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the letter of transmittal is signed by the registered holder of
the Old Notes tendered therewith, or by a participant in one of
the book-entry transfer facilities whose name appears on a
security position listing it as the owner of those Old Notes, or
if any Old Notes for principal amounts not tendered are to be
issued directly to the holder, or, if tendered by a participant
in one of the book-entry transfer facilities, any Old Notes for
principal amounts not tendered or not accepted for exchange are
to be credited to the participants account at the
book-entry transfer facility, and neither the Special
Issuance Instructions nor the Special Delivery
Instructions box on the letter of transmittal has been
completed, or |
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the Old Notes are tendered for the account of an eligible
institution. |
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An eligible institution is a firm that is a member of a
registered national securities exchange or of the National
Association of Securities Dealers, Inc., a commercial bank or a
trust company having an office or correspondent in the United
States or an eligible guarantor institution within
the meaning of
Rule 17Ad-15 under
the Exchange Act.
The exchange agent will seek to establish a new account or
utilize an existing account with respect to the Old Notes at DTC
promptly after the date of this prospectus. Any financial
institution that is a participant in the DTC system and whose
name appears on a security position listing as the owner of the
Old Notes may make book-entry delivery of Old Notes by causing
DTC to transfer such Old Notes into the exchange agents
account. However, although delivery of Old Notes may be
effected through book-entry transfer into the exchange
agents account at DTC, a properly completed and validly
executed Letter of Transmittal, or a manually signed facsimile
thereof, must be received by the exchange agent at one of its
addresses set forth in this prospectus on or prior to the
expiration date of the exchange offer, or else the guaranteed
delivery procedures described below must be complied with.
The confirmation of a book-entry transfer of Old Notes into the
exchange agents account at DTC is referred to in this
prospectus as a book-entry confirmation. Delivery of
documents to DTC in accordance with DTCs procedures does
not constitute delivery to the exchange agent.
If you wish to tender your Old Notes and:
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(1) certificates representing your Old Notes are not lost
but are not immediately available, |
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(2) time will not permit your letter of transmittal,
certificates representing your Old Notes and all other required
documents to reach the exchange agent on or prior to the
expiration date of the exchange offer, or |
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(3) the procedures for book-entry transfer cannot be
completed on or prior to the expiration date of the exchange
offer, you may nevertheless tender if all of the following
conditions are complied with: |
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your tender is made by or through an eligible institution; and |
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on or prior to the expiration date of the exchange offer, the
exchange agent has received from the eligible institution a
properly completed and validly executed notice of guaranteed
delivery, by manually signed facsimile transmission, mail or
hand delivery, in substantially the form provided with this
prospectus. The notice of guaranteed delivery must: |
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(a) set forth your name and address, the registered
number(s) of your Old Notes and the principal amount of Old
Notes tendered; |
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(b) state that the tender is being made thereby; |
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(c) guarantee that, within three New York Stock Exchange
trading days after the expiration date, the letter of
transmittal or facsimile thereof properly completed and validly
executed, together with certificates representing the Old Notes,
or a book-entry confirmation, and any other documents required
by the letter of transmittal and the instructions thereto, will
be deposited by the eligible institution with the exchange
agent; and |
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(d) the exchange agent receives the properly completed and
validly executed letter of transmittal or facsimile thereof with
any required signature guarantees, together with certificates
for all Old Notes in proper form for transfer, or a book-entry
confirmation, and any other required documents, within three New
York Stock Exchange trading days after the expiration date. |
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New Notes will be issued in exchange for Old Notes accepted for
exchange only after timely receipt by the exchange agent of:
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certificates for (or a timely book-entry confirmation with
respect to) your Old Notes, |
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a properly completed and duly executed letter of transmittal or
facsimile thereof with any required signature guarantees, or, in
the case of a book-entry transfer, an agents
message, and |
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any other documents required by the letter of transmittal. |
We will determine, in our sole discretion, all questions as to
the form of all documents, validity, eligibility, including time
of receipt, and acceptance of all tenders of Old Notes. Our
determination will be final and binding on all parties.
Alternative, conditional or contingent tenders of Old Notes
will not be considered valid. We reserve the absolute right to
reject any or all tenders of Old Notes that are not in proper
form or the acceptance of which, in our opinion, would be
unlawful. We also reserve the right to waive any defects,
irregularities or conditions of tender as to particular Old
Notes.
Our interpretation of the terms and conditions of the exchange
offer, including the instructions in the letter of transmittal,
will be final and binding.
Any defect or irregularity in connection with tenders of Old
Notes must be cured within the time we determine, unless waived
by us. We will not consider the tender of Old Notes to have been
validly made until all defects and irregularities have been
waived by us or cured. Neither we, the exchange agent, or any
other person will be under any duty to give notice of any
defects or irregularities in tenders of Old Notes, or will incur
any liability to holders for failure to give any such notice.
Withdrawal of Tenders
Except as otherwise provided in this prospectus, you may
withdraw your tender of Old Notes at any time prior to the
expiration date.
For a withdrawal to be effective:
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the exchange agent must receive a written notice of withdrawal
at the address set forth on the inside of the back cover of this
prospectus, or |
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you must comply with the appropriate procedures of DTCs
automated tender offer program system. |
Any notice of withdrawal must:
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specify the name of the person who tendered the Old Notes to be
withdrawn, and |
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identify the Old Notes to be withdrawn, including the principal
amount of the Old Notes. |
If Old Notes have been tendered pursuant to the procedure for
book-entry transfer described above, any notice of withdrawal
must specify the name and number of the account at DTC to be
credited with the withdrawn Old Notes and otherwise comply with
the procedures of DTC.
We will determine all questions as to validity, form,
eligibility and time of receipt of any withdrawal notices. Our
determination will be final and binding on all parties. We will
deem any Old Notes so withdrawn not to have been validly
tendered for exchange for purposes of the exchange offer.
Any Old Notes that have been tendered for exchange but that are
not exchanged for any reason will be returned to their holder
without cost to the holder or, in the case of Old Notes tendered
by book-entry transfer into the exchange agents account at
DTC according to the procedures described above, such Old Notes
will be credited to an account maintained with DTC for the Old
Notes. This return or crediting will take place promptly after
withdrawal, rejection of tender or termination of the exchange
offer. You may
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retender properly withdrawn Old Notes by following one of the
procedures described under Procedures for
Tendering Old Notes at any time on or prior to the
expiration date.
Conditions of the Exchange Offer
Notwithstanding any other provisions of the exchange offer, if,
on or prior to the expiration date, we determine, in our
reasonable judgment, that the exchange offer, or the making of
an exchange by a holder of Old Notes, would violate applicable
law or any applicable interpretation of the staff of the
Commission, we will not be required to accept for exchange, or
to exchange, any tendered Old Notes. We may also terminate,
waive any conditions to or amend the exchange offer or, subject
to Rule 14e-1
under the Exchange Act, which requires that an offeror pay the
consideration offered or return the securities deposited by or
on behalf of the holders thereof promptly after the termination
or withdrawal of the exchange offer, postpone the acceptance for
exchange of tendered Old Notes.
Transfer Taxes
We will pay all transfer taxes applicable to the transfer and
exchange of Old Notes pursuant to the exchange offer. If,
however:
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delivery of the New Notes and/or certificates for Old Notes for
principal amounts not exchanged, are to be made to any person
other than the record holder of the Old Notes tendered; |
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tendered certificates for Old Notes are recorded in the name of
any person other than the person signing any letter of
transmittal; or |
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a transfer tax is imposed for any reason other than the transfer
and exchange of Old Notes to us or our order, |
the amount of any such transfer taxes, whether imposed on the
record holder or any other person, will be payable by the
tendering holder prior to the issuance of the New Notes.
Consequences of Failing to Exchange
If you do not exchange your Old Notes for New Notes in the
exchange offer, you will remain subject to the restrictions on
transfer of the Old Notes:
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as set forth in the legend printed on the Old Notes as a
consequence of the issuance of the Old Notes pursuant to the
exemptions from, or in transactions not subject to, the
registration requirements of the Securities Act and applicable
state securities laws; and |
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otherwise set forth in the offering circular distributed in
connection with the private offering of the Old Notes. |
In general, you may not offer or sell the Old Notes unless they
are registered under the Securities Act, or if the offer or sale
is exempt from registration under the Securities Act and
applicable state securities laws. Except as required by the
registration rights agreement, we do not intend to register
resales of the Old Notes under the Securities Act.
Accounting Treatment
The New Notes will be recorded at the same carrying value as the
Old Notes, as reflected in our accounting records on the date of
the exchange. Accordingly, we will not recognize any gain or
loss for accounting purposes upon the consummation of the
exchange offer. We will amortize the expenses of the exchange
offer over the term of the New Notes.
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Exchange Agent
Global Bondholder Services Corporation has been appointed as
exchange agent for the exchange offer. You should direct
questions and requests for assistance, requests for additional
copies of this prospectus, the letter of transmittal or any
other documents to the exchange agent. You should send
certificates for Old Notes, letters of transmittal and any other
required documents to the exchange agent at the address set
forth on the inside of the back cover of this prospectus.
Information Agent
Global Bondholder Services Corporation has been appointed as the
information agent for the exchange offer and will receive
customary compensation for its services. Questions concerning
tender procedures and requests for additional copies of this
prospectus or the letter of transmittal should be directed to
the information agent at the address and telephone number set
forth on the inside of the back cover of this prospectus.
Holders of Old Notes may also contact their commercial bank,
broker, dealer, trust company or other nominee for assistance
concerning the exchange offer.
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DESCRIPTION OF THE NOTES
The New Notes will be issued, and the Old Notes were issued
under the Sixth Supplemental Indenture dated as of April 9,
2007 and the Seventh Supplemental Indenture dated as of
April 9, 2007 (each, a Supplemental Indenture
and together, the Supplemental Indentures), to our
senior indenture dated February 1, 1993 (the
Indenture), between us and The Bank of New York
Trust Company, N.A., as successor trustee to The Bank of New
York. The terms of the Notes include those stated in the
Indenture and those made a part of the Indenture by reference to
the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended. References to the
Indenture in this section include the applicable
Supplemental Indenture.
The 2015 Notes and the 2027 Notes are two separate series of
notes under the Indenture for purposes of, among other things,
payments of principal and interest, Events of Default and
consents to certain amendments to the Indenture and the Notes.
Certain terms used in this section are defined under the
subheading Certain definitions. In this
section, the words Company, SCI,
we, us, and ours refer only
to Service Corporation International and not to any of its
subsidiaries.
The following description is only a summary of the material
provisions of the Indenture and the notes and does not purport
to be complete and is subject to, and qualified in its entirety
by reference to, all of the provisions of the Indenture and the
notes, including definitions therein of certain terms. We urge
you to read the Indenture because it, and not this description,
defines your rights as Holders of the notes. You may request
copies of the Indenture at our address set forth under the
heading Where You Can Find More Information.
General
The notes of each series:
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are our general unsecured obligations; |
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are senior in right of payment to all of our subordinated
indebtedness; |
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rank equally in right of payment with all of our other
unsubordinated indebtedness; |
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are effectively subordinated in right of payment to all of the
Companys existing and future secured indebtedness to the
extent of the collateral securing that indebtedness; |
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are structurally subordinated in right of payment to all of the
liabilities and obligations, including trade payables, of each
of our subsidiaries; and |
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are limited to an aggregate principal amount of
$200 million. |
Maturity and Interest
The 2015 Notes will mature on April 1, 2015. The 2027 Notes
will mature on April 1, 2027. Interest on the 2015 Notes
will accrue at a rate of 6.75% per annum, and interest on the
2027 Notes will accrue at a rate of 7.50% per annum. The
interest, including any additional interest, on each series of
notes will be payable semi-annually on April 1 and
October 1 of each year, commencing October 1, 2007, to
the persons in whose names the notes are registered at the close
of business on the preceding March 15 or September 15,
respectively. Interest on notes will accrue from the date of
original issuance or, if interest has already been paid, from
the date it was most recently paid. Interest will be computed on
the basis of a 360-day year consisting of twelve
30-day months. If we
fail to comply with our obligations to file and maintain a
registration statement in accordance with the registration
rights agreements, additional interest will accrue on the notes
of the affected series. All references in this prospectus to
interest are deemed to include any such additional
interest, unless the context indicates otherwise. If any
interest payment date, repurchase or redemption date or stated
maturity date falls on a day that is not a business day, payment
will be made on the next business day (and without any interest
or other payment in respect of such delay) with the same force
and effect as if made on the relevant interest payment date,
repurchase or
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redemption date, or stated maturity date. Unless we default on a
payment, no interest will accrue for the period from and after
the applicable maturity date or redemption date.
Optional Redemption
The notes of each series will be redeemable, in whole or in
part, at our option at any time, upon at least
30 days and not more than 60 days notice
to the holders, at a redemption price equal to the greater of
(1) 100% of the principal amount of such notes, and
(2) as determined by the Quotation Agent, the sum of the
present values of the remaining scheduled payments of principal
and interest thereon (not including any portion of such payments
of interest accrued as of the date of redemption) discounted to
the date of redemption on a semi-annual basis (assuming a
360-day year consisting of twelve 30-day months) at the Adjusted
Treasury Rate plus 50 basis points in the case of the 2015 Notes
and 50 basis points in the case of the 2027 Notes, plus, in each
case, accrued interest thereon to (but not including) the date
of redemption.
Selection
If we redeem less than all of the notes of either series at any
time, the trustee will select the notes to be redeemed by any
method that it deems fair and appropriate. In the event of a
partial redemption, the trustee may provide for selection for
redemption of portions of the principal amount of any note of a
denomination larger than $1,000.
Change of Control
Upon the occurrence of any of the following events (each a
Change of Control), each holder shall have the right
to require that we repurchase all or any part of such
holders notes at a purchase price in cash equal to 101% of
the principal amount thereof on the date of purchase plus
accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to the date of purchase
(subject to the right of holders of record on the relevant
record date to receive interest due on the relevant interest
payment date):
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(1) any person (as such term is used in
Sections 13(d) and 14(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended (the Exchange Act)) becomes the
beneficial owner (as defined in
Rules 13d-3 and
13d-5 under the
Exchange Act, except that for purposes of this clause (1)
such person shall be deemed to have beneficial
ownership of all shares that any such person has the right
to acquire, whether such right is exercisable immediately or
only after the passage of time), directly or indirectly, of more
than 35% of the total voting power of our voting stock; |
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(2) individuals who on the issue date constituted the board
of directors (together with any new directors whose election by
such board of directors or whose nomination for election by our
shareholders was approved by a vote of at least a majority of
the directors of the Company then still in office who were
either directors on the issue date or whose election or
nomination for election was previously so approved) cease for
any reason to constitute a majority of the board of directors
then in office; |
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(3) the Company is liquidated or dissolved or adopts a plan
of liquidation or dissolution; or |
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(4) the merger or consolidation of the Company with or into
another person or the merger of another person with or into the
Company, or the sale of all or substantially all the assets of
the Company (determined on a consolidated basis) to another
person, other than a transaction following which (i) in the
case of a merger or consolidation transaction, holders of
securities that represented 100% of our voting stock immediately
prior to such transaction (or other securities into which such
securities are converted as part of such merger or consolidation
transaction) own directly or indirectly at least a majority of
the voting power of the voting stock of the surviving person in
such merger or consolidation transaction immediately after such
transaction and (ii) in the case of a sale of assets
transaction, each transferee becomes an obligor in respect of
the notes and a subsidiary of the transferor of such assets. |
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Within 30 days following any Change of Control, we will
mail a notice to each holder with a copy to the trustee (the
Change of Control Offer) stating:
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(1) that a Change of Control has occurred and that such
holder has the right to require us to purchase such
holders notes at a purchase price in cash equal to 101% of
the principal amount thereof on the date of purchase, plus
accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to the date of purchase
(subject to the right of holders of record on the relevant
record date to receive interest on the relevant interest payment
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(2) the circumstances and relevant facts regarding such
Change of Control (including information with respect to pro
forma historical income, cash flow and capitalization, in
each case after giving effect to such Change of Control); |
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(3) the purchase date (which shall be no earlier than
30 days nor later than 60 days from the date such
notice is mailed); and |
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(4) the instructions, as determined by us, consistent with
the covenant described hereunder, that a holder must follow in
order to have its notes purchased. |
We will not be required to make a Change of Control Offer with
respect to a series of notes following a Change of Control if
(1) a third party makes the Change of Control Offer in the
manner, at the times and otherwise in compliance with the
requirements set forth in the indenture applicable to a Change
of Control Offer made by us and purchases all notes of such
series validly tendered and not withdrawn under such Change of
Control Offer or (2) notice of redemption of all of such
series of notes has been given pursuant to the indenture as
described herein under the caption Optional
Redemption unless and until there has been a default in
payment of the applicable redemption price.
A Change of Control Offer may be made in advance of a Change of
Control, conditional upon the Change of Control, if a definitive
agreement is in place for the Change of Control at the time of
making of the Change of Control Offer.
We will comply, to the extent applicable, with the requirements
of Section 14(e) of the Exchange Act and any other
securities laws or regulations in connection with the repurchase
of notes as a result of a Change of Control. To the extent that
the provisions of any securities laws or regulations conflict
with the provisions of the covenant described hereunder, we will
comply with the applicable securities laws and regulations and
shall not be deemed to have breached our obligations under the
covenant described hereunder by virtue of our compliance with
such securities laws or regulations.
The Change of Control purchase feature of the notes may in
certain circumstances make more difficult or discourage a sale
or takeover of the Company and, thus, the removal of incumbent
management. The Change of Control purchase feature is a result
of negotiations between the Company and the initial purchasers.
The Company does not have the present intention to engage in a
transaction involving a Change of Control, although it is
possible that we could decide to do so in the future. Subject to
the limitations discussed below, we could, in the future, enter
into certain transactions, including acquisitions, refinancings
or other recapitalizations, that would not constitute a Change
of Control under the indenture, but that could increase the
amount of indebtedness outstanding at such time or otherwise
affect our capital structure or credit ratings. Restrictions on
our ability to incur additional secured indebtedness or permit
our assets to become subject to liens are contained in the
covenant described under Covenants
Limitation on Liens. Such restrictions can only be waived
with respect to a series with the consent of the holders of a
majority in principal amount of the notes of that series then
outstanding. Except for the limitations contained in such
covenant, however, the indenture will not contain any covenants
or provisions that may afford holders of the notes protection in
the event of a highly leveraged transaction.
Our senior credit facility provides that the occurrence of
certain change of control events would constitute a default
thereunder. In the event that at the time of a Change of Control
the terms of the credit agreement restrict or prohibit the
purchase of notes following such Change of Control, then prior to
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the mailing of the notice to holders but in any event within
30 days following any Change of Control, we undertake to
(1) repay in full all such indebtedness or (2) obtain
the requisite consents under the agreement governing such
indebtedness to permit the repurchase of the notes. If we do not
repay such indebtedness or obtain such consents, we will remain
prohibited from purchasing notes. In such case, our failure to
comply with the foregoing undertaking, after appropriate notice
and lapse of time, would result in an event of default under the
indenture, which would, in turn, constitute a default under the
credit agreement.
Future indebtedness that we may incur may contain prohibitions
on the occurrence of certain events that would constitute a
Change of Control or require the repurchase of such indebtedness
upon a Change of Control. Moreover, the exercise by the holders
of their right to require us to repurchase their notes could
cause a default under such indebtedness, even if the Change of
Control itself does not, due to the financial effect of such
repurchase on us. Finally, our ability to pay cash to the
holders of notes following the occurrence of a Change of Control
may be limited by our then existing financial resources. There
can be no assurance that sufficient funds will be available when
necessary to make any required repurchases.
The definition of Change of Control includes a
disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the
Company to another person. Although there is a limited body of
case law interpreting the phrase substantially all,
there is no precise established definition of the phrase under
applicable law. Accordingly, in certain circumstances there may
be a degree of uncertainty as to whether a particular
transaction would involve a disposition of all or
substantially all of the assets of the Company. As a
result, it may be unclear as to whether a Change of Control has
occurred and whether a holder of notes may require the Company
to make an offer to repurchase the notes as described above. The
provisions under the indenture relative to our obligation to
make an offer to repurchase the notes as a result of a Change of
Control may be waived or modified with respect to a series of
notes with the written consent of the holders of a majority in
principal amount of the notes of that series.
Covenants
The indenture contains the following covenants, among others,
applicable to the notes of each series:
Neither we, nor any subsidiary, may mortgage, pledge, encumber
or subject to any lien or security interest to secure any of our
indebtedness or any indebtedness of any subsidiary (other than
indebtedness owing to us or a wholly-owned subsidiary) any
assets without providing that the senior debt securities issued
pursuant to the indenture shall be secured equally and ratably
with (or prior to) any other indebtedness so secured, unless,
after giving effect thereto, the aggregate outstanding amount of
all such secured indebtedness of us and our subsidiaries
(excluding secured indebtedness existing as of December 31,
2006 and any extensions, renewals or refundings thereof that do
not increase the principal amount of indebtedness so extended,
renewed or refunded and excluding secured indebtedness incurred
as set forth in the next paragraph), together with all
outstanding Attributable Indebtedness from sale and leaseback
transactions described in the first bullet point under
Limitation on Sale and Leaseback
Transactions below, would not exceed 10% of Adjusted
Consolidated Net Tangible Assets of us and our subsidiaries on
the date such indebtedness is so secured.
This restriction will not prevent us or any subsidiary:
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from acquiring and retaining property subject to mortgages,
pledges, encumbrances, liens or security interests existing
thereon at the date of acquisition thereof, or from creating
within one year of such acquisition mortgages, pledges,
encumbrances or liens upon property acquired by us or any
subsidiary after December 31, 2006, as security for
purchase money obligations incurred by us or any subsidiary in
connection with the acquisition of such property, whether
payable to the person from whom such property is acquired or
otherwise; |
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from mortgaging, pledging, encumbering or subjecting to any lien
or security interest current assets to secure current
liabilities; |
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from mortgaging, pledging, encumbering or subjecting to any lien
or security interest property to secure indebtedness under one
or more Credit Facilities in an aggregate principal amount not
to exceed $500 million; |
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from extending, renewing or refunding any indebtedness secured
by a mortgage, pledge, encumbrance, lien or security interest on
the same property theretofore subject thereto, provided that the
principal amount of such indebtedness so extended, renewed or
refunded shall not be increased; or |
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from securing the payment of workmens compensation or
insurance premiums or from making good faith pledges or deposits
in connection with bids, tenders, contracts (other than
contracts for the payment of money) or leases, deposits to
secure public or statutory obligations, deposits to secure
surety or appeal bonds, pledges or deposits in connection with
contracts made with or at the request of the United States
government or any agency thereof, or pledges or deposits for
similar purposes in the ordinary course of business. |
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Limitation on Sale and Leaseback Transactions |
Neither we nor any subsidiary will enter into any transaction
with any bank, insurance company or other lender or investor, or
to which any such lender or investor is a party, providing for
the leasing to us or a subsidiary of any real property (except a
lease for a temporary period not to exceed three years by the
end of which it is intended that the use of such real property
by the lessee will be discontinued) which has been or is to be
sold or transferred by us or such subsidiary to such lender or
investor or to any person to whom funds have been or are to be
advanced by such lender or investor on the security of such real
property unless either:
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such transaction is the substantial equivalent of a mortgage,
pledge, encumbrance, lien or security interest which we or any
subsidiary would have been permitted to create under the
covenant described in Limitation on
Liens without equally and ratably securing all senior debt
securities (including the notes) then outstanding under the
indenture; or |
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within 120 days after such transaction we applied (and in
any such case we covenant that we will so apply) an amount equal
to the greater of: |
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the net proceeds of the sale of the real property leased
pursuant to such transaction or |
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the fair value of the real property so leased at the time of
entering into such transaction (as determined by our board of
directors) |
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to the retirement of Funded Debt of SCI; provided that the
amount to be applied to the retirement of Funded Debt of SCI
shall be reduced by: (1) the principal amount of any senior
debt securities outstanding under the indenture delivered within
120 days after such sale to the trustee for retirement and
cancellation and (2) the principal amount of Funded Debt,
other than senior debt securities outstanding under the
indenture, voluntarily retired by us within 120 days after
such sale; provided, that no retirement referred to in this
clause (2) may be effected by payment at maturity or
pursuant to any mandatory sinking fund payment or any mandatory
prepayment provision. |
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Reports
Whether or not required by the Commission, so long as any notes
are outstanding, we will furnish to the trustee and to any
holders of the notes who so request, within 15 days of the
time periods specified in the Commissions rules and
regulations:
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(1) |
all quarterly and annual financial information that would be
required to be contained in a filing with the Commission on
Forms 10-Q and 10-K if we were required to file such Forms,
including a Managements Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations and, with
respect to the annual information only, a report on the annual
financial statements by our independent accountants; and |
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(2) |
all current reports that would be required to be filed with the
Commission on Form 8-K if we were required to file such
reports. |
In addition, whether or not required by the Commission, we will
file a copy of all of the information and reports referred to in
clauses (1) and (2) above with the Commission for
public availability within the time periods specified in the
Commissions rules and regulations (unless the Commission
will not accept such a filing) and make such information
available to securities analysts and prospective investors upon
request. In addition, for so long as any notes remain
outstanding, we will furnish to the holders and to prospective
investors, upon their request, the information required to be
delivered pursuant to Rule 144A(d)(4) under the Securities
Act.
Consolidation, Merger or Sale
We may consolidate or merge with or into any other corporation,
and may sell, lease, exchange or otherwise dispose of all or
substantially all of our property and assets to any other
corporation authorized to acquire and operate the same, provided
that in any such case
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immediately after such transaction we or such other corporation
formed by or surviving any such consolidation or merger, or to
which such sale, lease, exchange or other disposition shall have
been made, will not be in default in the performance or
observance of any of the terms, covenants and conditions in the
indenture to be kept or performed by us; |
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the corporation (if other than SCI) formed by or surviving any
such consolidation or merger, or to which such sale, lease,
exchange or other disposition shall have been made, shall be a
corporation organized under the laws of the United States, any
state thereof or the District of Columbia; and |
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the corporation (if other than SCI) formed by such
consolidation, or into which we shall have been merged, or the
corporation which shall have acquired or leased such property
and assets, shall assume, by a supplemental indenture, our
obligations under the indenture. |
In case of any such consolidation, merger, sale, lease, exchange
or other disposition and upon any such assumption by the
successor corporation, such successor corporation shall succeed
to and be substituted for us, with the same effect as if it had
been named in the indenture as SCI, and, except in the case of a
lease, we shall be relieved of any further obligation under the
indenture and any senior debt securities issued thereunder.
Discharge and Defeasance
We may discharge or defease our obligations with respect to the
notes of either series as set forth below.
We may discharge all of our obligations (except those set forth
below) to holders of the notes of either series that have not
already been delivered to the trustee for cancellation and which
either have become due and payable or are by their terms due and
payable within one year (or are to be called for redemption
within one year) by irrevocably depositing with the trustee cash
or U.S. government
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obligations, or a combination thereof, as trust funds in an
amount certified to be sufficient to pay when due the principal
of, premium, if any, and interest on all outstanding notes of
that series.
We may also discharge at any time all of our obligations (except
those set forth below) to holders of the notes of either series
(defeasance) if, among other things:
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we irrevocably deposit with the trustee cash or U.S. government
obligations, or a combination thereof, as trust funds in an
amount certified to be sufficient to pay the principal of,
premium, if any, and interest on all outstanding notes of that
series when due, and such funds have been so deposited for
91 days; |
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such deposit will not result in a breach or violation of, or
cause a default under, any agreement or instrument to which we
are a party or by which we are bound; and |
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we deliver to the trustee an opinion of counsel to the effect
that the holders of such notes will not recognize income, gain
or loss for United States federal income tax purposes as a
result of such defeasance, and that such defeasance will not
otherwise alter the United States federal income tax treatment
of principal, premium, if any, and interest payments on such
notes. Such opinion of counsel must be based on a ruling of the
Internal Revenue Service or a change in United States federal
income tax law, since such a result would not occur under
current tax law. |
In the event of such discharge or defeasance of the notes of
either series, the holders thereof would be entitled to look
only to such trust funds for payment of the principal of,
premium, if any, and interest on the notes of that series.
Notwithstanding the preceding, no discharge or defeasance
described above shall affect the following obligations to or
rights of the holders of such notes:
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(1) |
rights of registration of transfer and exchange of notes; |
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(2) |
rights of substitution of mutilated, defaced, destroyed, lost or
stolen notes; |
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(3) |
rights of holders of notes to receive payments of principal
thereof, premium, if any, and interest thereon when due from the
trust funds held by the trustee; |
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(4) |
the rights, obligations, duties and immunities of the trustee; |
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(5) |
the rights of holders of notes as beneficiaries with respect to
property deposited with the trustee payable to all or any of
them; and |
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(6) |
our obligation to maintain an office or agency for notice,
payments and transfers in respect of notes. |
Modification of the Indenture
The indenture provides that SCI and the trustee may enter into
supplemental indentures without the consent of any holders of
senior debt securities outstanding thereunder to:
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evidence the assumption by a successor corporation of our
obligations under the indenture; |
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add covenants or make the occurrence and continuance of a
default in such additional covenants a new Event of Default for
the protection of the holders of such debt securities; |
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cure any ambiguity or correct any inconsistency in the indenture
or amend the indenture in any other manner which we may deem
necessary or desirable and which will not adversely affect the
interests of the holders of senior debt securities issued
thereunder; |
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establish the form or terms of any series of senior debt
securities to be issued pursuant to the indenture; |
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evidence the acceptance of appointment by a successor trustee; or |
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secure such senior debt securities with any property or assets. |
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The indenture also contains provisions permitting us and the
trustee, with the consent of the holders of not less than a
majority in aggregate principal amount of the notes of each
series then outstanding, to add any provisions to, or change in
any manner or eliminate any of the provisions of, the indenture
or modify in any manner the rights of the holders of notes of
that series; provided that neither we nor the trustee may,
without the consent of the holder of each outstanding note of
that series:
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extend the stated maturity of the principal of such notes,
reduce the principal amount thereof, reduce the rate or extend
the time of payment of interest thereon, reduce or alter the
method of computation of any amount payable on redemption
thereof, change the coin or currency in which principal,
premium, if any, and interest are payable, or impair or affect
the right of any holder to institute suit for the enforcement of
any payment thereof; or |
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reduce the percentage in aggregate principal amount of notes of
that series, the consent of the holders of which is required for
any such modification. |
Events of Default
An Event of Default with respect to the notes of each series is
defined as being any one or more of the following events:
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(1) |
failure to pay any installment of interest on the notes of that
series for 30 days; |
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(2) |
failure to pay the principal of or premium, if any, on any of
the notes of that series when due; |
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(3) |
failure to perform any other of the covenants or agreements in
the notes of that series or in the indenture that continues for
a period of 60 days after being given written notice; |
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(4) |
if a court having jurisdiction enters a bankruptcy order or a
judgment, order or decree adjudging SCI a bankrupt or insolvent,
or an order for relief for reorganization, arrangement,
adjustment or composition of or in respect of SCI and the
judgment, order or decree remains unstayed and in effect for a
period of 60 consecutive days; |
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(5) |
if we institute a voluntary case in bankruptcy, or consent to
the institution of bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings against
us, or file a petition seeking, or seek or consent to,
reorganization, arrangement, composition or relief, or consent
to the filing of such petition or to the appointment of a
receiver, custodian, liquidator, assignee, trustee, sequestrator
or similar official of SCI or of substantially all of our
property, or we shall make a general assignment for the benefit
of creditors; or |
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(6) |
default under any bond, debenture, note or other evidence of
indebtedness for money borrowed by us or any subsidiary or under
any mortgage, indenture or instrument under which there may be
issued or by which there may be secured or evidenced any
indebtedness for money borrowed by us or any subsidiary (other
than non-recourse indebtedness), whether such indebtedness
exists on the date of the indenture or shall thereafter be
created, which default shall have resulted in such indebtedness
becoming or being declared due and payable prior to the date on
which it would otherwise have become due and payable, or any
default in payment of such indebtedness (after the expiration of
any applicable grace periods and the presentation of any debt
instruments, if required), if the aggregate amount of all such
indebtedness which has been so accelerated and with respect to
which there has been such a default in payment shall exceed
$10,000,000, without each such default and acceleration having
been rescinded or annulled within a period of 30 days after
there shall have been given to us by the trustee by registered
mail, or to us and the trustee by the holders of at least 25
percent in aggregate principal amount of the notes of that
series then outstanding, a written notice specifying each such
default and requiring us to cause each such default and
acceleration to be rescinded or annulled and stating that such
notice is a Notice of Default under the indenture. |
If an Event of Default with respect to the notes of either
series then outstanding occurs and is continuing, then and in
each and every such case, unless the principal of all of the
notes of that series then
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outstanding shall have already become due and payable, either
the trustee or the holders of not less than 25 percent in
aggregate principal amount of the notes of that series then
outstanding, by notice in writing to us (and to the trustee if
given by holders of notes of that series), may declare the
unpaid principal amount of all notes of that series then
outstanding and the optional redemption premium, if any, and
interest accrued thereon to be due and payable immediately, and
upon any such declaration the same shall become and shall be
immediately due and payable. This provision, however, is subject
to the condition that, if at any time after the unpaid principal
amount of such notes shall have been so declared due and payable
and before any judgment or decree for the payment of the moneys
due shall have been obtained or entered, we shall pay or shall
deposit with the trustee a sum sufficient to pay all matured
installments of interest upon all such notes and the principal
of any and all notes of that series which shall have become due
otherwise than by acceleration (with interest on overdue
installments of interest to the extent that payment of such
interest is enforceable under applicable law and on such
principal at the rate borne by such notes to the date of such
payment or deposit) and the reasonable compensation,
disbursements, expenses and advances of the trustee, and any and
all defaults under the indenture, other than the nonpayment of
such portion of the principal amount of and accrued interest on
such notes which shall have become due by acceleration, shall
have been cured or shall have been waived in accordance with the
indenture or provision deemed by the trustee to be adequate
shall have been made therefor, then and in every such case the
holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the notes
of that series then outstanding, by written notice to us and to
the trustee, may rescind and annul such declaration and its
consequences; but no such rescission and annulment shall extend
to or shall affect any subsequent default, or shall impair any
right consequent thereon. If any Event of Default with respect
to us specified in clause (4) or (5) above occurs, the
unpaid principal amount and accrued interest on all notes then
outstanding shall ipso facto become and be immediately
due and payable without any declaration or other act by the
trustee or any holder of such notes.
If the trustee shall have proceeded to enforce any right under
the indenture and such proceedings shall have been discontinued
or abandoned because of such rescission or annulment or for any
other reason or shall have been determined adversely to the
trustee, then and in every such case we, the trustee and the
holders of such series of notes shall be restored respectively
to their several positions and rights under the indenture, and
all rights, remedies and powers of SCI, the trustee and the
holders of such notes shall continue as though no such
proceeding had been taken. Except with respect to an Event of
Default pursuant to clause (1) or (2) above, the
trustee shall not be charged with knowledge of any Event of
Default unless written notice thereof shall have been given to
the trustee by us, a paying agent or any holder of the notes.
The indenture provides that, subject to the duty of the trustee
during default to act with the required standard of care, the
trustee will be under no obligation to exercise any of its
rights or powers under the indenture at the request or direction
of any of the holders of a series of the notes, unless such
holders shall have offered to the trustee reasonable security or
indemnity.
No holder of notes of either series then outstanding shall have
any right by virtue of or by availing of any provision of the
indenture to institute any suit, action or proceeding in equity
or at law upon or under or with respect to the indenture or the
notes of that series or for the appointment of a receiver or
trustee or similar official, or for any other remedy under the
indenture or under such notes, unless such holder previously
shall have given to the trustee written notice of default and of
the continuance thereof, and unless the holders of not less than
25 percent in aggregate principal amount of notes of that
series then outstanding shall have made written request to the
trustee to institute such action, suit or proceeding in its own
name as trustee and shall have offered to the trustee such
reasonable indemnity as it may require against the costs,
expenses and liabilities to be incurred therein or thereby, and
the trustee for 60 days after its receipt of such notice,
request and offer of indemnity, shall have neglected or refused
to institute any such action, suit or proceeding.
Notwithstanding any other provisions in the indenture, however,
the right of any holder of the notes to receive payment of the
principal of, premium, if any, and interest on such notes, on or
after the respective due dates expressed in such notes, or to
institute suit for the
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enforcement of any such payment on or after such respective
dates shall not be impaired or affected without the consent of
such holder.
The holders of at least a majority in aggregate principal amount
of notes of either series then outstanding shall have the right
to direct the time, method and place of conducting any
proceeding for any remedy available to the trustee, or
exercising any trust or power conferred on the trustee with
respect to the notes of that series; provided that (subject to
certain exceptions) the trustee shall have the right to decline
to follow any such direction if the trustee shall determine upon
advice of counsel that the action or proceeding so directed may
not lawfully be taken or if the trustee in good faith shall
determine that the action or proceeding so directed would
involve the trustee in personal liability. The holders of
662/3%
in aggregate principal amount of the notes of either series then
outstanding may on behalf of the holders of all of such notes
waive any past default or Event of Default with respect to that
series and its consequences except a default in the payment of
premium, if any, or interest on, or the principal of, such
notes. Upon any such waiver we, the trustee and the holders of
all notes of that series shall be restored to our and their
former positions and rights under the indenture, respectively;
but no such waiver shall extend to any subsequent or other
default or Event of Default with respect to that series or
impair any right consequent thereon. Whenever any default or
Event of Default shall have been waived as permitted, said
default or Event of Default with respect to either series of
notes shall for all purposes of the notes of that series and the
indenture be deemed to have been cured and to be not continuing.
The trustee shall, within 90 days after the occurrence of a
default with respect to the notes of either series then
outstanding, mail to all holders of such notes, as the names and
the addresses of such holders appear upon the notes register,
notice of all defaults known to the trustee with respect to such
notes, unless such defaults shall have been cured before the
giving of such notice (the term defaults for the
purpose of these provisions being hereby defined to be the
events specified in clauses (1), (2), (3), (4), (5) and
(6) above, not including periods of grace, if any, provided
for therein and irrespective of the giving of the written notice
specified in said clause (3) or (6) but in the case of
any default of the character specified in said clause
(3) or (6) no such notice to holders of notes shall be
given until at least 60 days after the giving of written
notice thereof to us pursuant to said clause (3) or (6), as
the case may be); provided, that, except in the case of default
in the payment of the principal of, premium, if any, or interest
on any of the notes of that series, the trustee shall be
protected in withholding such notice if and so long as the
trustee in good faith determines that the withholding of such
notice is in the best interests of the holders of such notes.
We are required to furnish to the trustee annually a statement
as to the fulfillment by us of all of our obligations under the
indenture.
Governing Law
The indenture and the notes are governed by the laws of the
State of Texas.
Definitions
For all purposes of the indenture and this prospectus, the
following terms shall have the respective meanings set forth
below (except as otherwise expressly provided or unless the
context otherwise clearly requires). All accounting terms used
in the indenture and herein and not expressly defined shall have
the meanings assigned to such terms in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles, and the term generally
accepted accounting principles means such accounting
principles as are generally accepted in the United States at the
date of the initial issuance of the notes.
Adjusted Consolidated Net Tangible Assets means, at
the time of determination, the aggregate amount of total assets
included in SCIs most recent quarterly or annual
consolidated balance sheet
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prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting
principles, net of applicable reserves reflected in such balance
sheet, after deducting the following amounts reflected in such
balance sheet:
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goodwill; |
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deferred charges and other assets; |
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preneed funeral receivables and trust investments; |
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preneed cemetery receivables and trust investments; |
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cemetery perpetual care trust investments; |
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current assets of discontinued operations; |
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non-current assets of discontinued operations; |
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other like intangibles; and |
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current liabilities (excluding, however, current maturities of
long-term debt). |
Adjusted Treasury Rate means, with respect to any
redemption date, the rate per annum equal to the semi-annual
equivalent yield to maturity of the Comparable Treasury Issue,
assuming a price for the Comparable Treasury Issue (expressed as
a percentage of its principal amount) equal to the Comparable
Treasury Price for such redemption date.
Attributable Indebtedness, when used with respect to
any sale and leaseback transaction, means, at the time of
determination, the present value (discounted at the rate set
forth or implicit in the terms of the lease included in such
transaction) of the total obligations of the lessee for rental
payments (other than amounts required to be paid on account of
property taxes, maintenance, repairs, insurance, assessments,
utilities, operating and labor costs and other items that do not
constitute payments for property rights) during the remaining
term of the lease included in such transaction (including any
period for which such lease has been extended). In the case of
any lease that is terminable by the lessee upon the payment of a
penalty or other termination payment, such amount shall be the
lesser of the amount determined assuming termination upon the
first date such lease may be terminated (in which case the
amount shall also include the amount of the penalty or
termination payment, but no rent shall be considered as required
to be paid under such lease subsequent to the first date upon
which it may be so terminated) or the amount determined assuming
no such termination.
Capital Stock means:
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in the case of a corporation, corporate stock; |
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in the case of a partnership or limited liability company,
partnership or membership interests (whether general or
limited); and |
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any other interest or participation that confers on a person the
right to receive a share of the profits and losses of, or
distributions of assets of, the issuing person. |
Comparable Treasury Issue means the United States
Treasury security selected by the Quotation Agent as having a
maturity comparable to the remaining term of the notes to be
redeemed that would be utilized, at the time of selection and in
accordance with customary financial practice, in pricing new
issues of corporate debt securities of comparable maturity to
the remaining term of such notes.
Comparable Treasury Price means, with respect to any
redemption date, (i) the average of the Reference Treasury
Dealer Quotations for such redemption date, after excluding the
highest and lowest such Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations, or
(ii) if the trustee obtains fewer than three such Reference
Treasury Dealer Quotations, the average of all such Quotations.
Credit Facilities means one or more debt facilities
with banks or other institutional lenders providing for
revolving credit or term loans or letters of credit.
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Funded Debt means indebtedness for money borrowed
which by its terms matures at or is extendible or renewable at
the option of the obligor to a date more than 12 months
after the date of the creation of such indebtedness.
The term holder means, in the case of any note, the
person in whose name such note is registered in the security
register kept by the Company for that purpose in accordance with
the terms of the indenture.
The term person means any individual, corporation,
limited liability company, partnership, joint venture,
association, joint stock company, trust, estate, unincorporated
organization or government or any agency or political
subdivision thereof.
Quotation Agent means the Reference Treasury Dealer
appointed by SCI.
Perpetual Care Trust means a trust established to
provide perpetual care or maintenance for any cemetery,
mausoleum or columbarium.
Pre-Need Trust means a trust established to hold
funds related to the purchase of funeral or cemetery goods or
services on a pre-need basis.
Reference Treasury Dealer means each of Merrill
Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (and its
successors), Banc of America Securities LLC (and its successors)
and any other nationally recognized investment banking firm that
is a primary U.S. government securities dealer specified from
time to time by SCI.
Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations means, with
respect to each Reference Treasury Dealer and any redemption
date, the average, as determined by SCI, of the bid and asked
prices for the Comparable Treasury Issue (expressed in each case
as a percentage of its principal amount) quoted in writing to
the trustee by such Reference Treasury Dealer as of 5:00 p.m.,
New York time, on the third business day preceding the
redemption date.
The term subsidiary means, with respect to any
person:
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(1) |
any corporation, association, limited liability company or other
business entity (other than a partnership) of which more than
50% of the total voting power of shares of Capital Stock
entitled (without regard to the occurrence of any contingency)
to vote in the election of directors, managers or trustees
thereof is at the time owned or controlled, directly or
indirectly, buy such person or one or more of the other
subsidiaries of that person (or a combination thereof); and |
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(2) |
any partnership (a) the sole general partner or the
managing general partner of which is such person or a subsidiary
of such person or (b) the only general partners of which are
such person or of one or more subsidiaries of such person (or
any combination thereof); |
provided, however, that no Pre-Need Trust or Perpetual Care
Trust shall be deemed to be a subsidiary for purposes of the
indenture.
Paying Agent and Registrar for the Notes
The trustee will initially act as paying agent and registrar
with respect to each series of notes. We may change the paying
agent or registrar without prior notice to the holders of the
notes, and we may act as paying agent or registrar.
Transfer and Exchange
Subject to the transfer restrictions described in
Book-Entry, Delivery and Form and Notice to
Investors, a holder may transfer or exchange notes in
accordance with the indenture. The registrar and the trustee may
require a holder, among other things, to furnish appropriate
endorsements and transfer
41
documents and we may require a holder to pay any taxes or other
governmental charges that may be imposed in connection with any
registration of transfer of the notes.
The registered holder of a note will be treated as its owner for
all purposes.
Notices
Notices to holders of the notes will be given by mail to the
addresses of such holders as they appear in the security
register.
No Personal Liability of Officers, Directors or
Stockholders
No director, officer or stockholder, as such, of SCI will have
any personal liability in respect of our obligations under the
indenture or the notes by reason of his, her or its status as
such.
Concerning the Trustee
The Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A., as successor to The
Bank of New York, is the trustee under the indenture.
The indenture contains certain limitations on the right of the
trustee, should it become our creditor, to obtain payment of
claims in certain cases, or to realize for its own account on
certain property received in respect of any such claim as
security or otherwise. The trustee is permitted to engage in
certain other transactions. However, if it acquires any
conflicting interest within the meaning of the indenture after a
default has occurred and is continuing, it must eliminate the
conflict within 90 days, apply to the Commission for
permission to continue as trustee or resign.
42
UNITED STATES FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES
The following is a summary of certain United States federal
income tax consequences relating to exchanging Old Notes for New
Notes. This discussion is not a complete discussion of all the
potential tax consequences that may be relevant to you. Your tax
treatment may vary depending on your particular situation. This
summary does not address all of the tax consequences that may be
relevant to holders that are subject to special tax treatment.
This discussion is based upon the Internal Revenue Code of 1986,
as amended (the Code), its legislative history, existing and
proposed regulations thereunder, published rulings, and court
decisions, all as in effect on the date of this document, and
all of which are subject to change, possibly on a retroactive
basis. We have not sought any ruling from the Internal Revenue
Service or an opinion of counsel with respect to the statements
made herein concerning the exchange of the notes, and we cannot
assure you that the Internal Revenue Service will agree with
such statements.
We encourage you to consult your own tax advisors regarding the
particular United States federal tax consequences that may be
relevant to you, as well as any tax consequences that may arise
under the laws of any relevant foreign, state, local, or other
taxing jurisdiction or under any applicable tax treaty.
Your exchange of Old Notes for New Notes under the exchange
offer will not constitute a taxable exchange of the Old Notes.
As a result:
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you will not recognize taxable gain or loss when you receive New
Notes in exchange for Old Notes; |
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your holding period in the New Notes will include your holding
period in the Old Notes; and |
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your basis in the New Notes will equal your adjusted basis in
the Old Notes at the time of the exchange. |
TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE WITH TREASURY DEPARTMENT CIRCULAR 230,
YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT: (A) ANY DISCUSSION OF FEDERAL
TAX ISSUES IN THIS PROSPECTUS IS NOT INTENDED TO BE RELIED UPON,
AND CANNOT BE RELIED UPON, BY HOLDERS OF NOTES FOR THE PURPOSE
OF AVOIDING PENALTIES THAT MAY BE IMPOSED ON SUCH HOLDERS UNDER
THE CODE; (B) SUCH DISCUSSION IS WRITTEN IN CONNECTION WITH
THE TRANSACTIONS OR MATTERS ADDRESSED HEREIN; AND
(C) HOLDERS OF NOTES ARE ENCOURAGED TO SEEK ADVICE BASED ON
THEIR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES FROM AN INDEPENDENT TAX
ADVISOR.
ERISA CONSIDERATIONS
If you intend to use plan assets to exchange for any of the
New Notes offered by this prospectus, you should consult with
counsel on the potential consequences of your investment under
the fiduciary responsibility provisions of the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended
(ERISA), and the prohibited transaction provisions
of ERISA and the Code.
The following summary is based on the provisions of ERISA and
the Code and related guidance in effect as of the date of this
prospectus. This summary does not attempt to be a complete
summary of these considerations. Future legislation, court
decisions, administrative regulations or other guidance could
change the requirements summarized in this section. Any of these
changes could be made retroactively and could apply to
transactions entered into before the change is enacted.
Fiduciary Responsibilities
ERISA imposes requirements on (1) employee benefit plans
subject to ERISA, (2) entities whose underlying assets
include employee benefit plan assets, for example, collective
investment funds and insurance company general accounts, and
(3) fiduciaries of employee benefit plans. Under ERISA,
fiduciaries generally include persons who exercise discretionary
authority or control over plan assets. Before
43
investing any employee benefit plan assets in any note offered
in connection with this prospectus, you should determine whether
the investment:
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(1) is permitted under the plan document and other
instruments governing the plan; and |
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(2) is appropriate for the plan in view of its overall
investment policy and the composition and diversification of its
portfolio, taking into account the limited liquidity of the
notes. |
You should consider all factors and circumstances of a
particular investment in the notes, including, for example, the
risk factors discussed in Risk Factors and the fact
that in the future there may not be a market in which you will
be able to sell or otherwise dispose of your interest in the
notes.
We are not making any representation that the sale of any notes
to a plan meets the fiduciary requirements for investment by
plans generally or any particular plan or that such an
investment is appropriate for plans generally or any particular
plan. We are not providing any investment advice to any plan,
through this prospectus or otherwise.
Prohibited Transactions
ERISA and the Code prohibit a wide range of transactions
involving (1) employee benefit plans and arrangements
subject to ERISA and/or the Code, and (2) persons who have
specified relationships to the plans. These persons are called
parties in interest under ERISA and
disqualified persons under the Code. The
transactions prohibited by ERISA and the Code are called
prohibited transactions. If you are a party in
interest or disqualified person who engages in a prohibited
transaction, you may be subject to excise taxes and other
penalties and liabilities under ERISA and/or the Code. As a
result, if you are considering using plan assets to invest in
any of the notes offered for sale in connection with this
prospectus, you should consider whether the investment might be
a prohibited transaction under ERISA and/or the Code.
Prohibited transactions may arise, for example, if the notes are
acquired by a plan with respect to which we, the initial
purchasers or any of our respective affiliates, are parties in
interest or disqualified persons. Exemptions from the prohibited
transaction provisions of ERISA and the Code may apply depending
in part on the type of plan fiduciary making the decision to
acquire a note and the circumstances under which such decision
is made. Some of these exemptions include:
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(1) Prohibited transaction class exemption or
PTCE exemption
75-1 (relating to
specified transactions involving employee benefit plans and
broker-dealers, reporting dealers and banks); |
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(2) PTCE 84-14
(relating to specified transactions directed by independent
qualified professional asset managers); |
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(3) PTCE 90-1
(relating to specified transactions involving insurance company
pooled separate accounts); |
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(4) PTCE 91-38
(relating to specified transactions by bank collective
investment funds); |
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(5) PTCE 95-60
(relating to specified transactions involving insurance company
general accounts); and |
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(6) PTCE 96-23
(relating to specified transactions directed by in-house asset
managers). |
These exemptions do not, however, provide relief from the
self-dealing and conflicts of interests prohibitions under ERISA
and the Code. In addition, there is no assurance that any of
these class exemptions or other exemptions will be available
with respect to any particular transaction involving the notes.
Treatment of Insurance Company Assets as Plan Assets
Any insurance company proposing to invest assets of its general
account in the notes should consider the potential implications
of the U.S. Supreme Courts decision in John
Hancock Mutual Life Insurance
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Co. v. Harris Trust and Savings Bank,
510 U.S. 86, 114 S. Ct. 517 (1993), which,
in some circumstances, treats such general account as including
the assets of a plan that owns a policy or other contract with
such insurance company, as well as the potential effect of
Section 401(c) of ERISA, PTCE 95-60, and Department of
Labor Regulations Section 2550.401c-1.
Foreign Indicia of Ownership
ERISA also prohibits plan fiduciaries from maintaining the
indicia of ownership of any plan assets outside the jurisdiction
of the United States district courts except in specified cases.
Before investing in any note offered for sale in connection with
this prospectus, you should consider whether the acquisition,
holding or disposition of a note would satisfy such indicia of
ownership rules.
Representations and Warranties
If you acquire or accept a note offered in connection with this
prospectus, you and any subsequent transferee will be deemed to
have represented and warranted that either:
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(1) you have not, directly or indirectly, used plan assets
to acquire such note; |
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(2) your acquisition and holding of a note (A) is
exempt from the prohibited transaction restrictions of ERISA and
the Code under one or more prohibited transaction class
exemptions or does not constitute a prohibited transaction under
ERISA and the Code, and (B) meets the fiduciary
requirements of ERISA; or |
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(3) if you use plan assets to acquire such note and you are
not otherwise subject to ERISA, such acquisition is in
compliance with the applicable laws governing such plan. |
BOOK-ENTRY, DELIVERY AND FORM
Global Notes
Notes of each series issued in accordance with Rule 144A
initially will be represented by one or more notes in
registered, global form without interest coupons (collectively,
the Rule 144A global note). Any notes of either
series issued in accordance with Regulation S initially
will be represented by one or more notes in registered, global
form without interest coupons (collectively, the
Regulation S global note). Any notes of either
series resold to Institutional Accredited Investors following
the completion of this offering initially will be represented by
one or more notes in registered, global form without interest
coupons (collectively, the IAI global note and,
together with the Rule 144A global note and the
Regulation S global note respecting the same series of
notes, the global notes). The global notes of each
series will be deposited upon issuance with the trustee, as
custodian for DTC, and registered in the name of DTC or its
nominee, in each case for credit to an account of a direct or
indirect participant in DTC as described below.
Each global note (including beneficial interests in the global
note) will be subject to certain restrictions on transfer and
will bear restrictive legends. Beneficial interests in the
Regulation S global note may be transferred to a person
that takes delivery in the form of an interest in the
Rule 144A global note or the IAI global note of the same
series, and beneficial interests in the Rule 144A global
note or the IAI global note may be transferred to a person that
takes delivery in the form of an interest in the
Regulation S global note of the same series, only in the
limited circumstances described below. See
Transfers of Interests in One Global Note for
Interests in Another Global Note.
Except as set forth below, the global notes may be transferred,
in whole and not in part, only to another nominee of DTC or to a
successor of DTC or its nominee. In addition, transfers of
beneficial interests in the global notes will be subject to the
applicable rules and procedures of DTC and its direct or
indirect participants (including, if applicable, those of
Euroclear System (Euroclear) or Clearstream Banking,
Societe Anonyme (Clearstream) (as indirect
participants in DTC)), which may change from
45
time to time. Beneficial interests in the global notes may not
be exchanged for notes in certificated form except in the
limited circumstances described below. See
ø Transfers of Interests in Global Notes for
Certificated Notes.
Transfers of Interests in One Global Note for Interests in
Another Global Note
Prior to the expiration of the 40th day after the later of
the commencement of this offering and the original issue date of
the notes (such period through and including such 40th day,
the Restricted Period), a beneficial interest in the
Regulation S global note may be transferred to a person who
takes delivery in the form of an interest in the Rule 144A
global note or the IAI global note of the same series, only upon
receipt by the trustee of a written certification on behalf of
the transferor (in the form provided in the indenture) to the
effect that such transfer is being made in accordance with the
restrictions on transfer set forth in the indenture. After the
expiration of the Restricted Period, this certification
requirement will no longer apply to such transfers.
A person who holds a beneficial interest in the Rule 144A
global note or the IAI global note may transfer its interest to
a person who takes delivery in the form of a beneficial interest
in the Regulation S global note of the same series, whether
before or after the expiration of the Restricted Period, only
upon receipt by the trustee of a written certification from the
transferor to the effect that such transfer is being made in
accordance with Rule 903 or 904 of Regulation S.
A person who holds a beneficial interest in the Rule 144A
global note may transfer its beneficial interest to a person who
takes delivery in the form of a beneficial interest in the IAI
global note of the same series, or vice versa, only upon receipt
by the trustee of a written certification from the transferor to
the effect that such transfer is being made in accordance with
the restrictions on transfer set forth in the indenture.
Any beneficial interest in one of the global notes that is
exchanged for an interest in another global note of the same
series will cease to be an interest in such global note and will
become an interest in the other global note. Accordingly, such
interest will thereafter be subject to all transfer restrictions
and other procedures applicable to beneficial interests in such
other global note for as long as it remains such an interest.
Any exchange of a beneficial interest in one global note for a
beneficial interest in another global note of the same series or
vice versa will be effected in DTC by means of an instruction
originated by the trustee through the DTC Deposit/Withdraw at
Custodian (DWAC) system. Accordingly, in connection
with any such exchange, appropriate adjustments will be made in
the records of the note registrar to reflect a decrease in the
principal amount of the one global note and a corresponding
increase in the principal amount of the other global note.
Transfers of Interests in Global Notes for Certificated
Notes
A beneficial interest in a global note may not be exchanged for
a note of the same series in certificated form unless:
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(1) DTC (a) notifies us that it is unwilling or
unable to continue as depositary for the global note or
(b) has ceased to be a clearing agency registered under the
Exchange Act, and in either case we thereupon fail to appoint a
successor depositary within 90 days, or |
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(2) an Event of Default has occurred with respect to
such notes and DTC notifies the trustee of its decision to
exchange the global note for notes in certificated form. |
In all cases, certificated notes delivered in exchange for any
global note or beneficial interests therein will be registered
in the names, and issued in any approved denominations,
requested by or on behalf of the depositary (in accordance with
its customary procedures). Neither we nor the trustee will be
liable for any error or delay by or on behalf of the depositary
in identifying the beneficial owners of the notes. Any
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certificated note issued in exchange for an interest in a global
note will bear the legend restricting transfers unless the
legend is not required by applicable law.
Certain Book-Entry Procedures for Global Notes
The descriptions of the operations and procedures of DTC,
Euroclear and Clearstream that follow are provided solely as a
matter of convenience. These operations and procedures are
solely within the control of the respective settlement systems
and are subject to change by them from time to time. We take no
responsibility for these operations and procedures and urges
investors to contact the system or their participants directly
to discuss these matters. DTC has advised us that it is:
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a limited purpose trust company organized under the laws of the
State of New York, |
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a banking organization within the meaning of the New
York Banking Law, |
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a member of the Federal Reserve System, and |
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a clearing corporation within the meaning of the
Uniform Commercial Code and a Clearing Agency
registered pursuant to the provisions of Section 17A of the
Exchange Act. |
DTC was created to hold securities for its participants
(participants) and facilitate the clearance and
settlement of securities transactions between participants
through electronic book-entry changes in accounts of its
participants, thereby eliminating the need for physical transfer
and delivery of certificates. Direct participants include
securities brokers and dealers (including the initial
purchasers), banks, trust companies and clearing corporations
and may include certain other organizations. Indirect access to
the DTC system is available to other entities such as banks,
brokers, dealers and trust companies that clear through or
maintain a custodial relationship with a participant, either
directly or indirectly (indirect participants).
DTC has advised us that its current practice, upon deposit of a
global note, is to credit, on its internal system, the
respective principal amount of the individual beneficial
interests represented by such global note to the accounts with
DTC of the participants through which such interests are to be
held. Ownership of beneficial interest in the global notes will
be shown on, and the transfer of that ownership will be effected
only through, records maintained by DTC or its nominees (with
respect to interests of participants) and the records of
participants and indirect participants (with respect to
interests of persons other than participants).
As long as DTC, or its nominee, is the registered holder of a
global note, DTC or such nominee, as the case may be, will be
considered the sole owner and holder of the notes represented by
such global note for all purposes under the indenture and the
notes. Except in the limited circumstances described above under
Transfers of Interests in Global Notes for
Certificated Notes, owners of beneficial interests in a
global note will not be entitled to have any portions of such
global note registered in their names, and will not receive or
be entitled to receive physical delivery of notes in
certificated form and will not be considered the owners or
holders of the global note (or any notes represented thereby)
under the indenture or the notes.
Investors may hold their interests in the global notes directly
through DTC, if they are participants in such system, or
indirectly through organizations (including Euroclear and
Clearstream) which are participants in such system. Euroclear
and Clearstream will hold interests in the global notes on
behalf of their participants through customers securities
accounts in their respective names on the books of their
respective depositories. The depositories, in turn, will hold
such interests in the global notes in customers securities
accounts in the depositories names on the books of DTC.
All interests in a global note, including those held through
Euroclear or Clearstream, will be subject to the procedures and
requirements of DTC. Those interests held through Euroclear or
Clearstream will also be subject to the procedures and
requirements of such system. Transfers of beneficial interests
in a global note will also be subject to the procedures
described above under Transfers of Interests
in One Global Note for Interests in Another Global
Note, if applicable.
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The laws of some states require that certain persons take
physical delivery in certificated form of securities that they
own. Consequently, the ability to transfer beneficial interests
in a global note to such persons may be limited to that extent.
Because DTC can act only on behalf of its participants, which in
turn act on behalf of indirect participants, the ability of a
person having beneficial interests in a global note to pledge
such interests to persons or entities that do not participate in
the DTC system, or otherwise take actions in respect of such
interests, may be affected by the lack of a physical certificate
evidencing such interests.
Payments of the principal of, premium, if any, and interest on
global notes will be made to DTC or its nominee as the
registered owner thereof. Neither SCI, the trustee nor any of
their respective agents will have any responsibility or
liability for any aspect of the records relating to or payments
made on account of beneficial ownership interests in the global
notes or for maintaining, supervising or reviewing any records
relating to such beneficial ownership interests.
We expect that DTC or its nominee, upon receipt of any payment
of principal of, premium, if any, or interest in respect of a
global note representing any notes held by it or its nominee,
will credit participants accounts with payments in amounts
proportionate to their respective beneficial interests in the
principal amount of such global note for such notes as shown on
the records of DTC. We also expect that payments by participants
to owners of beneficial interests in such global note held
through such participants will be governed by standing
instructions and customary practices, as is now the case with
securities held for the accounts of customers registered in
street name. Such payments will be the
responsibility of such participants. Neither we nor the trustee
will be liable for any delay by DTC or any of its participants
in identifying the beneficial owners of the notes, and we and
the trustee may conclusively rely on and will be protected in
relying on instructions from DTC or its nominee as the
registered owner of the notes for all purposes.
Except for trades involving only Euroclear and Clearstream
participants, beneficial interests in the global notes will
trade in DTCs Same-Day Funds Settlement System and
secondary market trading activity in such interests will
therefore settle in immediately available funds, subject in all
cases to the rules and procedures of DTC and its participants.
Transfers between participants in DTC will be effected in
accordance with DTCs procedures, and will be settled in
same-day funds. Transfers between indirect participants (other
than those who hold a beneficial interest in the notes through
Euroclear or Clearstream) who hold their interest through a
participant will be effected in accordance with the procedures
of such participant but generally will settle in same-day funds.
Transfers between participants who hold beneficial interests in
the notes through Euroclear and Clearstream will be effected in
the ordinary way in accordance with their respective rules and
operating procedures.
Subject to compliance with the transfer restrictions applicable
to the notes described elsewhere herein, cross-market transfers
between DTC participants, on the one hand, and Euroclear or
Clearstream participants, on the other hand, will be effected by
its depository through DTC in accordance with DTCs rules
on behalf of Euroclear or Clearstream, as the case may be;
however, such crossmarket transactions will require delivery of
instructions to Euroclear or Clearstream, as the case may be, by
the counterparty in such system in accordance with the rules and
procedures and within the established deadlines (Brussels time)
of such system. Euroclear or Clearstream, as the case may be,
will, if the transaction meets its settlement requirements,
deliver instructions to its depositary to take action to effect
final settlement on its behalf by delivering or receiving
beneficial interests in the relevant global note in DTC, and
making or receiving payment in accordance with normal procedures
for same-day funds settlement applicable to DTC. Euroclear
participants and Clearstream participants may not deliver
instructions directly to the depositories for Euroclear or
Clearstream.
Because of time zone differences, the securities account of a
Euroclear or Clearstream participant purchasing a beneficial
interest in a global note from a DTC participant will be
credited, and any such crediting will be reported to the
relevant Euroclear or Clearstream participant, during the
securities settlement processing day (which must be a business
day for Euroclear and Clearstream) immediately following the DTC
settlement date. Cash received in Euroclear or Clearstream as a
result of sales of
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beneficial interests in a global note by or through a Euroclear
or Clearstream participant to a DTC participant will be received
with value on the DTC settlement date but will be available in
the relevant Euroclear or Clearstream cash account only as of
the business day for Euroclear or Clearstream following the DTC
settlement date.
DTC has advised us that it will take any action permitted to be
taken by a holder of notes only at the direction of one or more
participants to whose accounts with DTC beneficial interests in
the global notes are credited and only in respect of such
portion of the aggregate principal amount of the notes as to
which such participant or participants has or have given such
direction. However, if there is an Event of Default under the
notes of either series, DTC reserves the right to exchange the
global notes for legended notes of that series in certificated
form, and to distribute such notes to its participants. See
Transfers of Interests in Global Notes for
Certificated Notes.
Although DTC, Euroclear and Clearstream have agreed to the
foregoing procedures in order to facilitate transfer of
beneficial interests in the global notes among participants of
DTC, Euroclear and Clearstream, they are under no obligation to
perform or continue to perform such procedures, and such
procedures may be discontinued at any time. Neither SCI, the
trustee nor any of their respective agents will have any
responsibility for the performance by DTC, Euroclear,
Clearstream or their participants or indirect participants of
their respective obligations under the rules and procedures
governing their operations, including maintaining, supervising
or reviewing the records relating to or payments made on account
of, beneficial interests in global notes.
EXCHANGE OFFER AND REGISTRATION RIGHTS
We entered into registration rights agreements with the initial
purchasers on the original issue date of the notes. In the
registration rights agreements, we agreed for the benefit of the
holders of each series of the notes that we will use our best
efforts to file with the SEC and cause to become effective this
exchange offer registration statement relating to offers to
exchange each series of Old Notes for an issue of SEC-registered
New Notes with terms identical to such series of Old Notes
(except that the New Notes will not be subject to restrictions
on transfer or to any increase in annual interest rate as
described below).
When the SEC declares this exchange offer registration statement
effective, we will offer a series of New Notes in return for
each series of Old Notes. Each exchange offer will remain open
for at least 20 business days after the date we mail notice of
such exchange offer to noteholders. For each Old Note
surrendered to us under an exchange offer, the holder who
surrendered such Old Note will receive a New Note of equal
principal amount. Interest on each New Note will accrue from the
last interest payment date on which interest was paid on the
applicable series of notes or, if no interest has been paid on
the applicable series of notes, from the original issue date of
the notes.
If applicable interpretations of the staff of the SEC do not
permit us to effect the exchange offers, we will use our best
efforts to cause to become effective a shelf registration
statement relating to resales of Old Notes and to keep that
shelf registration statement effective until the expiration of
the time period referred to in Rule 144(k) under the
Securities Act, or such shorter period that will terminate when
all Old Notes covered by the shelf registration statement have
been sold. We will, in the event of such a shelf registration,
provide to each noteholder copies of a prospectus, notify each
noteholder when the shelf registration statement has become
effective and take certain other actions to permit resales of
each series of Old Notes. A noteholder that sells Old Notes
under the shelf registration statement generally will be
required to be named as a selling security holder in the related
prospectus and to deliver a prospectus to purchasers, will be
subject to certain of the civil liability provisions under the
Securities Act in connection with those sales and will be bound
by the provisions of the registration rights agreement that are
applicable to such noteholder (including certain indemnification
obligations).
If (a) this exchange offer registration statement is not filed
with the Commission on or prior to the 90th day following the
date of original issuance of the notes, (b) this exchange offer
registration statement is not declared effective on or prior to
the 180th day following the date of original issuance of the
notes or
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(c) the exchange offer with respect to a series of notes is not
completed (or, if required, the shelf registration statement is
not declared effective) on or prior to the 210th day following
the date of original issuance of the notes (each such event
referred to in classes (a) through (c) above a
Registration Default), the annual interest rate
borne by such series of notes will be increased by 0.25% per
annum upon the occurrence of each Registration Default, which
rate will increase by 0.25% each
90-day period that such
additional interest continues to accrue, up to a maximum
additional rate of 1.00% per annum. Following the cure of
all Registration Defaults, additional interest will cease to
accrue and the interest rate shall revert to the original
interest rate unless a new Registration Default shall occur.
If we effect the exchange offers, we will be entitled to close
the exchange offers 20 business days after their commencement,
provided that we have accepted all Old Notes of the
applicable series validly surrendered in accordance with the
terms of the applicable exchange offer. Old Notes not tendered
in an exchange offer shall bear interest at the rate set forth
on the cover page of this prospectus and be subject to all the
terms and conditions specified in the applicable supplemental
indenture, including transfer restrictions.
This summary of the provisions of the registration rights
agreements does not purport to be complete and is subject to,
and is qualified in its entirety by reference to, all the
provisions of the registration rights agreements, copies of
which are available from us upon request.
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION
Based on interpretations by the staff of the Commission set
forth in no action letters issued to third parties, we believe
that you may transfer New Notes issued under the exchange offer
in exchange for Old Notes unless you are:
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our affiliate within the meaning of Rule 405
under the Securities Act; |
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a broker-dealer that acquired Old Notes directly from us; or |
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a broker-dealer that acquired Old Notes as a result of
market-making or other trading activities without compliance
with the registration and prospectus delivery provisions of the
Securities Act; |
provided that you acquire the New Notes in the ordinary course
of your business and you are not engaged in, and do not intend
to engage in, and have no arrangement or understanding with any
person to participate in, a distribution of the New Notes.
Broker-dealers receiving New Notes in the exchange offer will be
subject to a prospectus delivery requirement with respect to
resales of the New Notes.
To date, the staff of the Commission has taken the position that
participating broker-dealers may fulfill their prospectus
delivery requirements with respect to transactions involving an
exchange of securities such as this exchange offer, other than a
resale of an unsold allotment from the original sale of the Old
Notes, with the prospectus contained in the exchange offer
registration statement.
Each broker-dealer that receives New Notes for its own account
pursuant to the exchange offer must acknowledge that it will
deliver a prospectus in connection with any resale of such New
Notes. This prospectus, as it may be amended or supplemented
from time to time, may be used by a broker-dealer in connection
with resales of New Notes received in exchange for Old Notes
where such Old Notes were acquired as a result of market-making
activities or other trading activities. In addition, until
August 21, 2007, all dealers effecting transactions in the
New Notes may be required to deliver a prospectus.
We will not receive any proceeds from any sale of New Notes by
broker-dealers. New Notes received by broker-dealers for their
own account pursuant to the exchange offer may be sold from time
to time in one or more transactions in the
over-the-counter
market, in negotiated transactions, through the writing of
options on the New Notes or a combination of such methods of
resale, at market prices prevailing at the time of resale, at
prices related to such prevailing market prices or negotiated
prices. Any such resale may be made directly to purchasers or to
or through brokers or dealers who may receive compensation in
the form of commissions or concessions from any such
broker-dealer or the purchasers of any such New
50
Notes. Any broker-dealer that resells New Notes that were
received by it for its own account pursuant to the exchange
offer and any broker or dealer that participates in a
distribution of such New Notes may be deemed to be an
underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act
and any profit on any such resale of New Notes and any
commission or concessions received by any such persons may be
deemed to be underwriting compensation under the Securities Act.
The letter of transmittal states that, by acknowledging that it
will deliver and by delivering a prospectus, a broker-dealer
will not be deemed to admit that it is an
underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act.
We have agreed to pay all expenses incident to the exchange
offer (including the expenses of one counsel for the holders of
the notes), other than commissions or concessions of any brokers
or dealers, and will indemnify the holders of the notes
(including any broker-dealers) against specified liabilities,
including liabilities under the Securities Act.
LEGAL MATTERS
The validity and enforceability of the notes offered hereby will
be passed upon for Service Corporation International by Locke
Liddell & Sapp LLP, Houston, Texas.
EXPERTS
The consolidated financial statements and managements
assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over
financial reporting (which is included in Managements
Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting)
incorporated in this Prospectus by reference to the Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2006 have been so incorporated in reliance on the report (which
contains an explanatory paragraph on managements
assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over
financial reporting and on the effectiveness of internal control
over financial reporting due to the exclusion of Alderwoods
Group, Inc. from the assessment of internal control over
financial reporting because it was acquired by the Company in a
purchase business combination during the fourth quarter of 2006)
of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent registered public
accounting firm, given on the authority of said firm as experts
in auditing and accounting.
The consolidated balance sheets of Alderwoods as of
December 31, 2005 and January 1, 2005, and the related
consolidated statements of operations, stockholders
equity, and cash flows for the fifty-two weeks ended
December 31, 2005, the fifty-two weeks ended
January 1, 2005, and the fifty-three weeks ended
January 3, 2004, incorporated in this prospectus by
reference to Exhibit 99.B to Current Report on
Form 8-K/A dated
February 12, 2007 have been audited by KPMG LLP, an
independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in
their report appearing in such
Form 8-K/A.
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The exchange agent for the exchange offer is:
Global Bondholder Services Corporation
By facsimile:
(For Eligible Institutions only):
(212) 430-3775
Confirmation:
(212) 430-3774
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By Mail:
65 Broadway Suite 723
New York, NY 10006 |
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By Overnight Courier:
65 Broadway Suite 723
New York, NY 10006 |
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By Hand:
65 Broadway Suite 723
New York, NY 10006 |
Any questions or requests for assistance or for additional
copies of the prospectus or the letter of transmittal may be
directed to the information agent at the telephone numbers set
forth below.
The information agent for the exchange offer is:
Global Bondholder Services Corporation
65 Broadway Suite 723
New York, NY 10006
Attn: Corporate Actions
Banks and Brokers call: (212) 430-3774
Toll free (866) 873-7700
We have not authorized any dealer, salesperson or other
person to give you written information other than this
prospectus or to make representations as to matters not stated
in this prospectus. You must not rely on unauthorized
information. This prospectus is not an offer to sell the notes
or our solicitation of your offer to buy the notes in any
jurisdiction where that would not be permitted or legal. Neither
the delivery of this prospectus nor any sales made hereunder
after the date of this prospectus shall create an implication
that the information contained herein or the affairs of the
company have not changed since the date of this prospectus.
Until August 21, 2007, all dealers that effect
transactions in these securities, whether or not participating
in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This
is in addition to the dealers obligation to deliver a
prospectus when acting as underwriters and with respect to their
unused allotments or subscriptions.
Service Corporation International
Offer to Exchange
Registered 6.75% Senior Notes due 2015
Registered 7.50% Senior Notes due 2027
for
All Outstanding 6.75% Senior Notes due 2015 issued on
April 9, 2007
All Outstanding 7.50% Senior Notes due 2027 issued on
April 9, 2007
($400,000,000 aggregate principal amount outstanding)
PROSPECTUS
July 11, 2007