The company said it was negotiating a $10 million credit facility and an asset-based facility of $10-$15m.

Combined, it is on the hunt for an estimated $240-$360m annually.

It did not disclose the potential partner companies, but officials did confirm the money would be earmarked for working capital to advance its aggressive growth as well as mergers and acquisitions.

The funding and credit facilities also will help Universal to gain access to major coal, natural gas and electricity supplies for its domestic, European and Asian customers.

“If we are successful in closing these funding transactions, this will allow us to expand our international coal division at a much faster pace, and generate greater revenues for our electric power and petroleum divisions,” Universal president Vince Guest said.

“We believe the outlook for the company is very strong, and we have a dedicated and talented team of professionals to achieve our expansion goals. With the capital funding, we are projecting combined annual sales from coal, natural gas and electric power in the $600 million range.”

Last month, the resources distributor confirmed it was close to a significantly valuable, multi-year export deal with an unidentified Chinese firm that would send millions of tons annually to China for electric generation.

The advanced negotiations announced April 8 involve large quantities of high thermal steam coal for the utility’s generation needs.

The projected provision of the transaction could expand coal sales from $108 million to $270m per year based on growing demand.

Universal officials said that it would sell an estimated 1.2-3 million tons per annum for the coming three years, with the total amount to be delivered over the term estimated to range between 3.6Mt and 9Mt at an estimated $90 per ton.

Combined, the transaction could be worth $324-810m.