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Examination of government records and historic data complied by The Daily Oklahoman showed that two major corporations, Canada-based Loewen and Houston-based Service Corp. International, had quietly amassed nearly 40 percent of Oklahoma City's funeral home business between them, buying local funeral homes and continuing to operate them under their long-established names. The Oklahoman undertook the project after SCI announced plans to acquire Loewen. A price survey conducted by The Oklahoman showed that the corporate-owned funeral homes, while establishing an ever-larger presence in the local market, were the most expensive. (November 17, 1996)