Kirby Corporation, the largest tank barge operator in the U.S., announced Tuesday it will purchase Stewart & Stevenson LLC for $710 million.
Stewart & Stevenson, a subsidiary of the Parman Capital Group, manufactures and distributes products and services for the oil and gas, marine, construction, power generation, transportation, mining and agricultural industries. Both companies are based in Houston.
Houston-based Kirby said the acquisition will significantly expand the geographic footprint and capabilities of the company’s distribution and services business.
“This transaction creates one of the largest distribution networks in the country with the engineering and technological capacity to successfully address the complex requirements of a large customer base in a competitive national and global environment,” David Grzebinski, Kirby’s president and CEO said in a statement. “In this period of accelerating demand in the pressure pumping and industrial sectors of the economy, Stewart & Stevenson’s leadership in these sectors and its longstanding, close relationships with the world’s major industrial companies provide an excellent opportunity for us to expand our participation in the national and international arenas. We expect this to accelerate diversification of our combined product lines, boost facility utilization and improve productivity.”
The purchase will be funded equally through Kirby’s revolving credit facility and Kirby common stock valued at approximately $355 million, subject to certain closing adjustments. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter.
Grzebinski said that Kirby expects the acquisition to be “modestly accretive to 2017 earnings per share, and expect more meaningful accretion in 2018 as we consolidate operations and capture synergies.”
Kirby is expected to provide updated 2017 guidance during the company’s third quarter earnings call, and will provide full year 2018 revenue and earnings per share guidance, including accretion from Stewart & Stevenson, when the company reports earnings in January 2018.
