LEVITTOWN, Pa., Feb. 22, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- StoneMor Partners L.P. (NYSE:STON) today announced it had acquired the Seawinds Funeral Homes located in Central Florida. Seawinds consists of 6 funeral homes situated between Melbourne and West Palm Beach. Two of the homes also contain cremation facilities. The transaction was completed through a combination of cash and equity, and was funded under StoneMor's existing credit facility. It is expected that the properties will be managed by StoneMor's Lohman Funeral Homes operations.
At the same time, StoneMor announced that it had amended its credit agreement to increase its credit facility by $10 million to $140 million.
Commenting on the acquisition and the revised credit agreement, StoneMor Partners President and Chief Executive Officer, Larry Miller, said, "This Seawinds acquisition further enhances our Florida operation in a number of ways. We expect that the acquired properties will be immediately accretive and the acquisition will be deleveraging under our credit facility. We also believe we will be able to grow the business under the Lohman team.
"The revised credit agreement provided us with the added flexibility to pursue this acquisition. We have built a strong foundation in the Florida market, and we look forward to creating additional value for our unitholders."
About StoneMor Partners L.P.
StoneMor Partners L.P., headquartered in Levittown, Pennsylvania, is an owner and operator of cemeteries and funeral homes in the United States, with 276 cemeteries and 92 funeral homes in 26 states and Puerto Rico. StoneMor is the only publicly traded deathcare company structured as a partnership. StoneMor's cemetery products and services, which are sold on both a pre-need (before death) and at-need (at death) basis, include: burial lots, lawn and mausoleum crypts, burial vaults, caskets, memorials, and all services which provide for the installation of this merchandise.
For additional information about StoneMor Partners L.P., please visit StoneMor's website, and the Investor Relations section, at http://stonemor.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this press release, including, but not limited to, information regarding the status and progress of our operating activities, the plans and objectives of our management, assumptions regarding our future performance and plans, and any financial guidance provided, as well as certain information in other filings with the SEC and elsewhere are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The words "believe," "may," "will," "estimate," "continue," "anticipate," "intend," "project," "expect," "predict" and similar expressions identify these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated, including, but not limited to, the following: uncertainties associated with future revenue and revenue growth; the effect of the current economic downturn; the impact of our significant leverage on our operating plans; our ability to service our debt and pay distributions; the decline in the fair value of certain equity and debt securities held in our trusts; our ability to attract, train and retain an adequate number of sales people; uncertainties associated with the volume and timing of pre-need sales of cemetery services and products; increased use of cremation; changes in the death rate; changes in the political or regulatory environments, including potential changes in tax accounting and trusting policies; our ability to successfully implement a strategic plan relating to producing operating improvements, strong cash flows and further deleveraging; our ability to successfully compete in the cemetery and funeral home industry; uncertainties associated with the integration or anticipated benefits of our recent acquisitions or any future acquisitions; our ability to complete and fund additional acquisitions; our ability to maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting; the effect of cybersecurity attacks due to our significant reliance on information technology; uncertainties relating to the financial condition of third-party insurance companies that fund our pre-need funeral contracts; and various other uncertainties associated with the death care industry and our operations in particular.
When considering forward-looking statements, you should keep in mind the risk factors and other cautionary statements set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC. We assume no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements made herein or any other forward-looking statements made by us, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.