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UPDATE 2-Service Corp withdraws buyout offer for Stewart

Tue Oct 7, 2008 6:27pm EDT

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Oct 7 (Reuters) - Service Corp International (SCI.N), the No. 1 U.S. funeral-home operator, withdrew its offer to buy rival Stewart Enterprises Inc (STEI.O) for $11 a share.

In a letter to Stewart Enterprises, Service Corp said it disagreed to accept all financing risks related to the deal or raise its offer.

Stewart Enterprises was not immediately available for comment.

The withdrawal of the offer comes a week after Stewart hired Goldman Sachs & Co to weigh strategic alternatives after receiving the unsolicited $1 billion takeover offer from Service Corp.

In July, Stewart had rejected Service Corp's initial takeover offer of $9.50 a share, forcing Service to sweeten the bid and make a fresh proposal at $11 a share.

Shares of Jefferson, Louisiana-based Stewart plunged 30 percent to $4.97 in after-hours trading. They closed down 5.3 percent at $7.09 Tuesday on Nasdaq.

Houston-based Service's shares, which closed at $7.19 on the New York Stock Exchange, were unchanged. (Reporting by Dhanya Skariachan in Bangalore; Editing by Vinu Pilakkott)

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