Cereplast Inc. said on Thursday it entered into definitive agreements with institutional investors who will purchase stock and warrants totaling about $7.5 million.

The El Segundo maker of bio-based plastics said it will use net proceeds for general corporate purposes. The company in recent weeks has announced several distribution agreements, a smaller first-quarter loss and steady progress in sourcing raw materials for its environmentally friendly plastics.

Cereplast, which has about 10 million shares outstanding, said it sold 2.1 million units consisting of one share and a five-year warrant to buy a share at $4.44. The offering is expected to close by June 15. It’s uncertain what the net proceeds will be.

The company last month received Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval for a shelf registration enabling it sell up to $25 million shares of common stock over the next several months.

“We are very excited about our growth prospects in 2010 and beyond,” said Chief Executive Frederic Scheer in a statement. “This round of financing will assist us in continuing to further the growth of our business by expanding our product lines.”

Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc., a subsidiary of Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc., was the sole placement agent for the offering.

Shares closed down $1, or 22.4 percent, Thursday to $3.44 on the Nasdaq. However, shares are off less than 2 percent since the beginning of the week.