Matthews International Agrees to Buy Aurora Casket Co.

Reposted from Kate-Boylston Publications

Matthews International Corp. has announced that the company has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Aurora Casket Co. from Kohlberg & Co.

Aurora will be combined with Matthews Funeral Home Products to form Matthews Aurora Funeral Solutions, which will be a cornerstone business of the memorialization segment of Matthews.

Under the terms of the transaction, Matthews will purchase Aurora’s stock for $214 million in cash on a debt-free basis subject to a working capital adjustment. Additional consideration of $10 million is payable contingent upon the achievement of a specified increased level of adjusted EBITDA for the last full 12 months prior to the closing. The combination is ultimately expected to achieve $15 to $20 million in annual cost synergies. The transaction is expected to close in the quarter ending Sept. 30, 2015, subject to the receipt of regulatory approvals.

“The Aurora acquisition advances Matthews’ strategic vision for growth, and we expect it to create significant shareholder value. We expect the integration to generate substantial synergies by eliminating redundant costs without impacting customer service,” Joseph C. Bartolacci, president and chief executive officer of Matthews, said in a press release issued by the company. “This will allow us to build even greater capabilities and continue to be competitive in an ever-changing marketplace with a growing number of competitive alternatives.”

Michael R. Quinn, president and CEO of Aurora, stated, “We see tremendous potential in combining Aurora with Matthews International Corporation, forming the most progressive industry supplier committed to helping funeral homes grow and succeed. Our company missions are similar, our geographic footprints are complementary, and we know that the new Matthews Aurora Funeral Solutions will continue Aurora’s tradition of helping to celebrate every life and creating healing moments for families.”

Steven D. Gackenbach, group president for Matthews Memorialization, stated, “Matthews and Aurora share a legacy of deep commitment to serving the funeral industry, and the new Matthews Aurora will be committed to maintaining the exceptional product quality, sales support, customer service and delivery for which both companies are known. We greatly respect the Aurora organization and its heritage, and look forward to uniting our two companies. Matthews and Aurora were both strong independently but together we possess tremendous capabilities to better serve our customers.”

Aurora is celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2015 and serves more than 5,000 customers annually. It was acquired by Kohlberg & Co. in 2012.

About Aurora

Aurora Casket is the largest privately-owned funeral service supplier in America. Founded in 1890, the company operates five manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and Canada, and provides a full range of burial, cremation, memorial and technology products to funeral home clients that help to celebrate every life and create healing moments for families. For more information, visitthe Aurora website.

About Matthews

Matthews International Corporation, headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a provider principally of brand solutions, memorialization products and industrial automation solutions. Brand solutions include graphics imaging products and services, and merchandising solutions. Memorialization products consist primarily of bronze and granite memorials and other memorialization products, caskets and cremation equipment for the cemetery and funeral home industries. Industrial automation solutions include marking products and fulfillment systems. The Company’s products and services include brand development, deployment and management; printing plates and cylinders; pre-media services and imaging services for consumer packaged goods and retail customers; merchandising display systems and marketing and design services; cast bronze and granite memorials and other memorialization products; caskets; cast and etched architectural products, cremation equipment and cremation-related products; mausoleums; marking and coding equipment and consumables, and industrial automation products and order fulfillment systems for identifying, tracking, picking, and conveying various consumer and industrial products. For more information, visit the Matthews website.

Posted June 9, 2015