Kirby Corporation has refilled its coffers and could be looking at further acquisitions.
The Houston Jones Act shipowner announced Thursday that it extended its $850m revolving credit facility to March 2024 and secured a five-year, $500m loan.
The company said the borrowings would be used for general purposes, "including acquisitions."
Kirby has been active in buying up smaller companies in recent months, announcing a $244m deal in January to buy Cenac Maritime Services' fleet of 63 inland tank barges, 34 inland towboats and two offshore tugboats.
Last year, the company bought Higman Marine and its affiliates for $419m, acquiring its 159 inland tank barges and 75 inland tugs. Kirby also bought CGBM for an undisclosed sum and Targa Resource Corporation for $69.3m.
JP Morgan Chase is the administrative agent on the deals, done with "a group of banks," the company said.
Quarterly payments on the $500m loan begin 30 June 2020. The loans come with a variable interest rate basted on Libor or a base rate calculated from the agent bank's prime rate and Kirby's credit rating.
The credit agreement was first entered into in 2017 and was originally set to mature in June 2022.
