EX-4.2 2 qcrh-20191231ex42c6548a1.htm EX-4.2

Exhibit 4.2

DESCRIPTION OF THE COMPANY’S SECURITIES

REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12 OF THE

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

The common stock of QCR Holdings, Inc. (the “Company,” which is also referred to herein as “we,” “our” or “us”) is registered pursuant to Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The following description of the material terms of the Company’s common stock is only a summary. This summary does not purport to be a complete description of the terms and conditions of the Company’s common stock and is subject to and qualified in its entirety by reference to the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, which we refer to as the “Certificate of Incorporation,” and the Company’s Bylaws, which we refer to as the “Bylaws,” each of which are filed as an exhibit to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K of which this exhibit is a part, as well as the Delaware General Corporation Law, which we refer to as the “DGCL,” and any other documents referenced in the summary and from which the summary is derived.

Authorized Shares of Capital Stock

We have the authority to issue 20,000,000 shares of common stock, $1.00 par value per share, and 250,000 shares of preferred stock, $1.00 par value per share.

The following description of the material terms of our capital stock is only a summary. This summary does not purport to be a complete description of the terms and conditions of our capital stock in all respects and is subject to and qualified in its entirety by reference to our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws, as well as the DGCL, and any other documents referenced in the summary and from which the summary is derived.

Common Stock

Dividend Rights. Holders of our common stock are entitled to receive any cash dividends that may be declared by our board of directors. We are subject to various regulatory policies and requirements relating to the payment of dividends, including requirements to maintain adequate capital above regulatory minimums. Subject to these restrictions, the declaration and payment of future dividends to holders of our common stock will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend upon our earnings and financial condition, our capital requirements and those of our subsidiaries, regulatory conditions and considerations and other factors as our board of directors may deem relevant. No cash dividends will be paid with respect to our common stock for any period unless dividends for the same period, and any accumulated but unpaid dividends, with respect to any outstanding series of our preferred stock having preferential rights with respect to dividends have been paid.

Voting Rights. Each share of common stock entitles the holder thereof to one vote per share on all matters on which the holders of our common stock are entitled to vote. The common stock does not have cumulative voting rights.

Liquidation Rights. In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, whether voluntary or involuntary, the holders of common stock are entitled to receive, pro rata, our assets which are legally available for distribution, after payment of all debts and other liabilities and subject to the prior rights of any holders of preferred stock then outstanding.

Preemptive Rights. The holders of our common stock have no preemptive rights.

Miscellaneous. Shares of our common stock are not convertible into shares of any other class of capital stock. The issued and outstanding shares of our common stock are fully paid and nonassessable.

Preferred Stock

General. We may issue up to 250,000 shares of preferred stock, $1.00 par value per share, from time to time in one or more series. Our board of directors, without further approval of our stockholders, has the authority to fix the dividend rights and terms, conversion rights, voting rights, redemption rights and terms, liquidation preferences,

sinking funds and any other rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions applicable to each series of preferred stock. The issuance of preferred stock, while providing flexibility in connection with possible acquisitions and other corporate purposes, could, among other things, adversely affect the voting power of the holders of our common stock.

We will describe the particular terms of any series of preferred stock being offered in the applicable prospectus supplement relating to that series of preferred stock. The shares of preferred stock will, when issued against full payment of their purchase price, be fully paid and nonassessable.

Anti-Takeover Provisions

General. Certain provisions of our Certificate of Incorporation, our Bylaws and the DGCL may have the effect of impeding the acquisition of control of the Company by means of a tender offer, a proxy fight, open-market purchases or otherwise in a transaction not approved by our board of directors. These provisions may have the effect of discouraging a future takeover attempt which is not approved by our board of directors but which individual stockholders may deem to be in their best interests or in which our stockholders may receive a substantial premium for their shares over then-current market prices. As a result, stockholders who might desire to participate in such a transaction may not have an opportunity to do so. Such provisions will also render the removal of our current board of directors or management more difficult.

Certificate of Incorporation; Bylaws. These provisions of our Certificate of Incorporation and our Bylaws include the following:

 Our board of directors may issue additional authorized shares of our capital stock to deter future attempts to gain control of the Company, and have the authority to determine the terms of any one or more series of preferred stock, such as voting rights, conversion rates and liquidation preferences. As a result of the ability to fix voting rights for a series of preferred stock, our board has the power, to the extent consistent with its fiduciary duties, to issue a series of preferred stock to persons friendly to management in order to attempt to block a merger or other transaction by which a third party seeks control, and thereby assist the incumbent board of directors and management to retain their respective positions;

 Our Certificate of Incorporation does not provide for cumulative voting for any purpose, and our Certificate of Incorporation also provides that any action required or permitted to be taken by stockholders may be taken only at an annual or special meeting and prohibits stockholder action by written consent in lieu of a meeting unless authorized by not less than 80% of the directors;

 Certain transactions (including any merger or consolidation, the sale, lease or exchange of all of substantially all assets, any issuance or transfer of any voting securities to any other entity in exchange for cash, assets or securities, and the voluntary dissolution of the Company) must be approved by at least 75% of the outstanding voting stock, unless approved by not less than 80% of the directors;

 When evaluating a proposal by another person to make a tender or exchange offer for an equity security, to merge or consolidate with us or to purchase or otherwise acquire all or substantially all of our assets, our Certificate of Incorporation allows the board of directors to consider non-stockholder interests, such as the social and economic effects of the transaction on us and our subsidiaries and the other elements of the communities in which we and our subsidiaries operate or are located; and

 The amendment of our Certificate of Incorporation must be approved by a majority vote of the board of directors and also by a majority vote of the outstanding shares of our common stock, provided, however, that an affirmative vote of at least 75% of the outstanding voting stock entitled to vote is required to amend or repeal certain provisions of our Certificate of Incorporation, including provisions (a) governing amendment of our Bylaws, (b) relating to the use of written ballots, (c) limiting business combinations with interested stockholders, (d) limiting the stockholders’ ability to act by written consent, and (e) regarding amendment of the foregoing supermajority provisions of our Certificate of Incorporation. Our Bylaws may be amended

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only by vote of 80% of the board of directors or by affirmative vote of not less than 75% of the outstanding shares of stock then entitled to vote.

Delaware Law. As we have not elected to opt out of the applicability of Section 203 of the DGCL in our Certificate of Incorporation, we are currently governed by this section of Delaware law. Under Section 203 of the DGCL, subject to exceptions, we are prohibited from engaging in any business combination with any interested stockholder for a period of three years following the time that the stockholder became an interested stockholder. For this purpose, an “interested stockholder” generally includes current and certain former holders of 15% or more of our outstanding stock. The provisions of Section 203 may encourage companies interested in acquiring us to negotiate in advance with our board of directors. These provisions may make it more difficult to accomplish transactions which stockholders may otherwise deem to be in their best interests.

Banking Laws. The ability of a third party to acquire the Company is also subject to applicable banking laws and regulations. The Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 (the “BHCA”) and the regulations thereunder require any “bank holding company” (as defined in the BHCA) to obtain the approval of the Federal Reserve prior to acquiring more than 5% of the outstanding shares of a class of our voting stock. Any person other than a bank holding company is required to obtain prior approval of the Federal Reserve to acquire 10% or more of the outstanding shares of a class of our voting stock under the Change in Bank Control Act of 1978. Federal law also prohibits any person or company from acquiring “control” of an FDIC-insured depository institution or its holding company without prior notice to the appropriate federal bank regulator. “Control” is conclusively presumed to exist upon the acquisition of 25% or more of the outstanding voting securities of a bank or bank holding company, but may arise under certain circumstances between 10% and 24.99% ownership. For purposes of calculating ownership thresholds under these banking regulations, bank regulators would likely at least take the position that the minimum number of shares, and could take the position that the maximum number of shares, of the Company’s common stock that a holder is entitled to receive pursuant to securities convertible into or settled in the Company’s common stock, including pursuant to the Company’s warrants to purchase the Company’s common stock held by such holder, must be taken into account in calculating a shareholder’s aggregate holdings of the Company’s common stock.

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