EX-4.VIII 2 exb4viii.htm EX-4.VIII
Exhibit 4(viii)
DESCRIPTION OF THE REGISTRANT’S SECURITIES
REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12 OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
As of December 31, 2020, Whirlpool Corporation (“Whirlpool,” “we,” “us” and “our”) had one class of securities registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”): our common stock, par value $1.00 per share (“Common Stock”).
Description of Common Stock
The following summary does not purport to be complete and is subject to, and is qualified in its entirety by reference to, the applicable provisions of Delaware law and our certificate of incorporation and our bylaws, copies of which are incorporated by reference as an exhibit to the Annual Report on Form 10-K of which this Exhibit 4(viii) is a part. We encourage you to read our certificate of incorporation, our bylaws, and the applicable provisions of Delaware law for additional information.
Authorized Shares
Our certificate of incorporation authorizes us to issue up to 250,000,000 shares of Common Stock, and 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $1.00 per share, in one or more series.
Voting, Dividend and Liquidation Rights
Subject to the rights of the holders of any series of preferred stock which may be outstanding from time to time, each share of Common Stock is entitled to one vote on all matters presented to the stockholders, with no cumulative voting rights; to receive such dividends as may be declared by the Board of Directors out of funds legally available therefor; and in the event of liquidation or dissolution of the Company, to share ratably in any distribution of the Company’s net assets.
Other Matters
Holders of shares of Common Stock do not have preemptive rights or other rights to subscribe for unissued or treasury shares or securities convertible into such shares; and no redemption or sinking fund provisions are applicable. All outstanding shares of Common Stock are fully paid and nonassessable. The rights, preferences and privileges of the holders of Common Stock are subject to, and may be adversely affected by, the rights of the holders of shares of any series of any preferred stock that we may designate and issue in the future.
Transfer Agent and Registrar
The transfer agent and registrar for the common stock is Computershare Trust Company, N.A.
Listing
Our Common Stock is listed for trading on the New York Stock Exchange and Chicago Stock Exchange under the trading symbol “WHR.”
Preferred Stock
Our board of directors has the authority without stockholder consent, subject to certain limitations imposed by Delaware law or our bylaws, to issue one or more series of preferred stock at any time and to fix the rights, preferences and restrictions of the preferred stock of each series, including:
•the number of shares in that series;
•the voting rights, including cumulative voting rights, if any;
•the dividend rights, if any;
•whether that series will be redeemable and the terms of redemption;
•the rights of holders of each such series upon dissolution or any distribution of assets;
•the terms or amount of the sinking fund, if any, for the redemption or purchase of shares of that series;
•conversion privileges, if any; and

•any other designations, preferences and relative, participating, optional, or other special rights, and qualifications, limitations or restrictions
As described above, our board of directors, without stockholder approval, may issue preferred stock with voting and conversion rights, which could adversely affect the voting power of the holders of our common stock. If we issue preferred stock, it may have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change of control.
Certain Anti-Takeover Effects
Certain provisions of our Certificate of Incorporation, our Bylaws and Delaware law may have the effect of impeding the acquisition of control of us. These provisions are designed to reduce, or have the effect of reducing, our vulnerability to unsolicited takeover attempts.
Stockholder Action by Written Consent
Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws require that all stockholder action be taken at a duly called meeting of the stockholders and prohibit taking action by written consent of stockholders.
Additional Authorized Shares of Capital Stock
The additional shares of authorized common stock and preferred stock available for issuance under our Certificate of Incorporation could be issued at such times, under such circumstances and with such terms and conditions as to impede a change in control.
Delaware Law
We are subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which, subject to certain exceptions, prohibits a Delaware corporation from engaging in any business combination with any interested stockholder for a period of three years following the time that such stockholder became an interested stockholder, unless the business combination or the acquisition of shares that resulted in a stockholder becoming an interested stockholder is approved in a prescribed manner:
Generally, under Section 203, an “interested stockholder” is a person who, together with affiliates and associates, owns (or within three years prior to the determination of interested stockholder status did own) fifteen percent (15%) or more of a corporation’s outstanding voting stock. The existence of this provision would be expected to have an anti-takeover effect with respect to transactions not approved in advance by our board of directors, including discouraging takeover attempts that might result in a premium over the market price for the shares of common stock held by stockholders.