Eagle Bancorp (EGBN) of Bethesda, Md., could raise up to $35 million for general corporate purposes, including potential acquisitions and organic growth.
The $2.8 billion-asset company said Tuesday that it had filed documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission that would allow it to sell from time to time common stock in an at the market equity offering. The document is a supplement to an existing shelf registration. Sandler O’Neill & Partners would act as the sales agent.
Eagle could also use the funds to make capital contributions to its bank, EagleBank, and support de novo branching.
Eagle's chief executive, Ronald Paul, has made no secret of his desire to grow the bank, particularly in the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. The company has opened four branches in Virginia in recent months and it plans to open a fifth later this year. In July it announced that it was buying Alliance Bancshares (ABVA) in Chantilly, Va., but the companies called off the deal in November,
The bank recently reported first-quarter profit of $7.6 million, up about 49% from a year earlier as it originated and
