Cathay General Bancorp late Tuesday said that it priced a secondary public offering of 7.6 million shares of common stock at $9.25 per share, for gross proceeds of about $70 million.

The offering price reflects a discount of 3 percent from the stock's Tuesday closing price, but shares were up 42 cents, or 4.4 percent, to $9.96 in Wednesday midday trading on the Nasdaq.

The Los Angeles parent of Cathay Bank expects to use the proceeds for general corporate purposes and acquisitions.

The bank holding company said it granted sole underwriter BofA Merrill Lynch a 30-day option to purchase an additional 1.14 million shares to cover over-allotments. The holding company had 53.1 million shares outstanding prior to the offering.