Consolidation
M&A activity, acquisitions, and corporate consolidation in deathcare.
TWO THIRDS TO BUY, ONE HALF TO SELL: NFDA'S OWN BYLAWS VOTE SHOWS THE MERGER'S DOUBLE STANDARD
NFDA's elections page confirms member bylaws voting opens September 24 on two bundled changes, one of them the merger vehicle. Article XIII requires a two-thirds vote to pass it while Selected's members dissolve at a simple majority, and NFDA weighs member votes more heavily than the association being absorbed.
VOTE FIRST, PLAN LATER: SELECTED'S BALLOT OPENS BEFORE THE OPPOSITION'S ALTERNATIVE ARRIVES
Selected's own framing, relayed by On Deathcare's Tony Russo, says members voting no should bring "a well-researched plan." One is coming, Billow says, in two to three weeks. The ballot opens Sept. 24 and closes Oct. 8.
NOT TWO-THIRDS: SELECTED'S CEO SAYS MERGER VOTE NEEDS ONLY A SIMPLE MAJORITY
Selected's CEO told Obitley the merger vote is a dissolution vote under D.C. nonprofit law that requires only a simple majority, and the two-thirds supermajority described in trade coverage since August does not apply. The electronic ballot launches September 24 and stays open 15 days.
TOWN HALL OVER, BALLOTS NEXT: SELECTED'S MERGER VOTE ENTERS ITS FINAL TWO WEEKS
Selected's members-only town hall ran 1:00 to 2:20 p.m. in Louisville with no votes taken and no press access. Ballots are expected in roughly two weeks on a letter of intent members are told is confidential. Three Obitley requests to the merger's principals were pending as of Thursday afternoon, none answered.
FOUR DAYS OUT: SELECTED'S MERGER VOTE MOVES TO LOUISVILLE
The campaign over the NFDA-Selected deal has gone public: an opposition post outdrawing the leadership interview better than 2-to-1, board calls to every member firm, and a letter of intent members cannot read.
TWO SIXTH-GENERATION MEMBERS CALL FOR REJECTING THE NFDA-SELECTED DEAL
Two past presidents' families lead the first organized opposition to the NFDA-Selected deal. Members cannot read the letter of intent they are being asked to approve, and the two men say 85% of 70 firms they polled lean no.
HE SECONDED THE MOTION: An Oklahoma Funeral Board Member Voted to Approve License Transfers for Properties He Sold to a Canadian Corporation
Oklahoma Funeral Board member John Davenport sold his eight-funeral-home company to Toronto-based Park Lawn Corporation in December 2025. In April 2026, he seconded the board motion approving license transfers for those properties. He did not recuse. Meanwhile, the Institute for Justice is suing the board as an unconstitutional cartel, and the governor who appointed him tried to abolish it.
NOT A CONSOLIDATOR: A Toronto Company Bought 13 Oklahoma Funeral Homes in Seven Months
A Toronto Stock Exchange company acquired 13 Oklahoma funeral homes in seven months while describing itself on its investor page as "not a consolidator." The acquired homes keep their local names. No state agency tracks who owns them.
QUIETLY ACQUIRED: How America's Largest Funeral Chain Bought 47 Homes in 18 Months
We tracked every deal, every price increase, every community left with fewer choices. The consolidation of American deathcare is accelerating — and it's happening without scrutiny.
Carriage Services Buys Knoxville's Oldest Funeral Home. The Town Pushed Back.
When the fourth-generation family funeral home changed hands, residents noticed: higher prices, shorter services, and a corporate script replacing personal care.
THE QUIET GIANT: How Everstory Partners Bought a Family Cemetery — and What It Reveals About Who Controls America's Burial Grounds
When Everstory Partners acquired Franklin Memorial Park in New Jersey, it was one more deal in a buying spree that has gone largely unnoticed. Behind the warm rebrand lies a company transformed from a troubled publicly traded cemetery operator into a private equity-powered consolidator with 460+ locations and global capital backing.
THE VALUATION FUNNEL: Inside Pinnacle Funeral Service's Quiet Acquisition of 15 Wisconsin Funeral Homes
When Mark Langendorf sold his family's nearly century-old funeral home to Pinnacle Funeral Service, he described the buyer as "the right steward for the future." But behind the warm language of legacy and continuity sits a company that has acquired 15 Wisconsin funeral homes, advertises pre-approved acquisition financing, and operates a Free Valuation page designed to identify its next targets. This is what the succession crisis looks like from the inside.
$1.2 BILLION TO GO DARK: Park Lawn's Take-Private Deal and the End of Public Scrutiny
Park Lawn Corporation, which acquired at least 16 funeral homes in Oklahoma alone over seven months, is going private in a $1.2 billion deal with a preneed insurance company and a Toronto private equity firm. Once the deal closes, the company's acquisitions will no longer appear in any public filing.
THE LAST INDEPENDENT VOICE: NFDA Absorbs Selected in Deathcare's Biggest Trade Association Deal
The only national trade association exclusively for independent funeral homes is being absorbed by NFDA after 18 months of internal deliberation. The official FAQ admits financial pressures forced the deal, even as the press release frames it as strategic growth.