Hancock Holding to offer common stock

GULFPORT — Hancock Holding Co. is offering about $200 million of its common stock shares.

Gulfport, Miss.-based Hancock said today that it would use proceeds for general corporate purposes. Those include boosting its capital and buying preferred shares of Whitney Holding Corp.

Hancock has a $1.5-billion stock deal pending to acquire New Orleans-based Whitney. As part of the deal, Hancock tends to buy back the Whitney shares, which Whitney issued to the U.S. Treasury in exchange for $300 million as part of the government’s troubled asset relief program.

Source: The Associated Press