Hercules Capital Inc. amended its equity distribution agreement with JMP Securities LLC to increase the size of its common stock offering to up to 12 million common shares.

The company has sold approximately 7.7 million common shares under the agreement.

Assuming the sale of the remaining 4,345,073 common shares offered under the agreement at the last reported sale price of $13.78 per share on the NYSE as of Dec. 19, Hercules Capital estimates that the net proceeds will be approximately $57.8 million, after deducting the estimated sales commission payable to JMP Securities and estimated offering expenses.

The company plans to use the net proceeds to fund investments in debt and equity securities and for other general corporate purposes.