B.Riley FBR, an investment bank and wholly-owned subsidiary of Woodland Hills-based B. Riley Financial, has entered into a $150 million credit agreement with Ohio-based Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises Inc., a move that is expected to boost the energy services firm’s path to profitability in 2019.

The $150 million credit line from Santa Monica-based B. Riley FBR, plus an additional $15 million credit offering that could be tapped at a later date, would be used to settle and limit future liabilities on the Barberton, Ohio-based Babcock & Wilcox’s energy projects in Europe, and provide funds for working capital, according to statements issued by B. Riley FBR and Babcock & Wilcox.

The new financing provides Babcock & Wilcox with the additional liquidity needed to continue its operational transformation, the statements said. B. Riley FBR also provided a $10 million credit line last month to the company.

As of Dec. 31, 2018, B. Riley business B. Riley Capital Management owned roughly 6.43 percent of the company’s stock, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

In addition to the credit lines, B. Riley FBR also has agreed to backstop a $50 million rights offering which is subject to approval by Babcock & Wilcox shareholders. It is anticipated that proceeds from the rights offering will be used to pay down a portion of the new $150 million term loan.

A date for the rights offering vote has not yet been scheduled, a Babcock & Wilcox spokesman said.

A rights offering is a group of rights offered to existing shareholders to purchase additional stock shares, known as subscription warrants, in proportion to their existing holdings.

Finance reporter Pat Maio can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 556-8329.