Word: sci
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...Billion Dollar Baby" stamped all over it. "Star Wars" is a rousing crowdpleaser, a reaffirmation that the good guys still win some of the time, and an affectionate needle at the legendary Flash Gordon movies of yesteryear all wrapped into one very slick package. And while devotees of the sci-fi movie genre may not take too kindly to the implicit parody of their chosen cult contained in Lucas' film, the dazzling special effects of "Star Wars" by themselves should prove sufficient to eclipse any lingering qualms they might experience about this decidedly good-natured spoof of motion pictures that...
...lawsuit had an unexpected aftershock. It depressed the value of Loewen's stock. It also forced the company to issue substantial amounts of new stock, thereby diluting Ray's holdings from 20% to 15%. Both developments made the company more vulnerable to attack. On Sept. 17, SCI announced it was offering to acquire Loewen. After Loewen's board rejected the bid, SCI recast it as a hostile takeover, this time for $45 in stock for each Loewen share, for a total value that Loewen and SCI estimate to be more than $4.2 billion...
...have been cutthroat competitors for years. Any merger is certain to prompt antitrust concerns. Together, for example, they control more than 23% of the funeral market in Florida, considered the El Dorado of the death business. In Seattle, Loewen owns a funeral home located on the grounds of an SCI-owned cemetery. The ftc has demanded company records to try to gauge the probable effect in states where both companies have a large, overlapping presence. Loewen says nine states, including Florida, have notified the company that they plan their own antitrust reviews. And Loewen itself has filed a defensive federal...
That Loewen's shareholders will benefit, merger or not, is certain. The offer has bid up the value of their stock and, incidentally, of O'Keefe's settlement, which included 1.5 million shares. If SCI prevails at $45 a share, that stock will be worth $22.5 million more than was guaranteed in the settlement...
Equally certain, however, is that future bereaved won't make out so well. No one expects that a successful takeover would lead to cheaper funerals. Indeed, even Ray Loewen thinks prices would probably rise as SCI sought to cover its costs of acquisition. "They would have to get earnings someplace to justify the purchase...