Exhibit 4.3
WARRANT TO PURCHASE PREFERRED
STOCK
THE SECURITIES
REPRESENTED BY THIS INSTRUMENT HAVE NOT BEEN REGISTERED UNDER THE
SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED, OR THE SECURITIES LAWS OF ANY
STATE AND MAY NOT BE TRANSFERRED, SOLD OR OTHERWISE DISPOSED OF
EXCEPT WHILE A REGISTRATION STATEMENT RELATING THERETO IS IN EFFECT
UNDER SUCH ACT AND APPLICABLE STATE SECURITIES LAWS OR PURSUANT TO
AN EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION UNDER SUCH ACT OR SUCH LAWS. THIS
INSTRUMENT IS ISSUED SUBJECT TO THE RESTRICTIONS ON TRANSFER AND
OTHER PROVISIONS OF A SECURITIES PURCHASE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE
ISSUER OF THESE SECURITIES AND THE INVESTOR REFERRED TO THEREIN, A
COPY OF WHICH IS ON FILE WITH THE ISSUER. THE SECURITIES
REPRESENTED BY THIS INSTRUMENT MAY NOT BE SOLD OR OTHERWISE
TRANSFERRED EXCEPT IN COMPLIANCE WITH SAID AGREEMENT. ANY SALE OR
OTHER TRANSFER NOT IN COMPLIANCE WITH SAID AGREEMENT WILL BE
VOID.
WARRANT
to purchase
767.00767
Shares of Preferred
Stock
of First Reliance Bancshares,
Inc.
Issue Date: March 6, 2009
1.
Definitions. Unless the context otherwise
requires, when used herein the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated.
“ Board of Directors ” means
the board of directors of the Company, including any duly
authorized committee thereof.
“ business day ” means any
day except Saturday, Sunday and any day on which banking
institutions in the State of New York generally are authorized or
required by law or other governmental actions to close.
“ Charter ” means, with
respect to any Person, its certificate or articles of
incorporation, articles of association, or similar organizational
document.
“ Company ” means the Person
whose name, corporate or other organizational form and jurisdiction
of organization is set forth in Item 1 of Schedule A
hereto.
“ Exchange Act ” means the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or any successor
statute, and the rules and regulations promulgated
thereunder.
“ Exercise Price ” means the
amount set forth in Item 2 of Schedule A hereto.
“ Expiration Time ” has the
meaning set forth in Section 3.
“Issue
Date” means the
date set forth in Item 3 of Schedule A hereto.
“
Liquidation Amount ” means the amount set forth in
Item 4 of Schedule A hereto.
“ Original Warrantholder ”
means the United States Department of the Treasury. Any actions
specified to be taken by the Original Warrantholder hereunder may
only be taken by such Person and not by any other
Warrantholder.
“ Person ” has the meaning
given to it in Section 3(a)(9) of the Exchange Act and as used in
Sections 13(d)(3) and 14(d)(2) of the Exchange Act.
“Preferred Stock ” means the series of perpetual preferred
stock set forth in Item 5 of Schedule A hereto.
“ Purchase Agreement ” means
the Securities Purchase Agreement – Standard Terms
incorporated into the Letter Agreement, dated as of the date set
forth in Item 6 of Schedule A hereto, as amended from time to time,
between the Company and the United States Department of the
Treasury (the “ Letter Agreement ”), including
all annexes and schedules thereto.
“ Regulatory Approvals ” with
respect to the Warrantholder, means, to the extent applicable and
required to permit the Warrantholder to exercise this Warrant for
shares of Preferred Stock and to own such Preferred Stock without
the Warrantholder being in violation of applicable law, rule or
regulation, the receipt of any necessary approvals and
authorizations of, filings and registrations with, notifications
to, or expiration or termination of any applicable waiting period
under, the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as
amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder.
“
SEC ” means the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission.
“ Securities Act ” means the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any successor statute, and
the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
“
Shares ” has the meaning set forth in Section
2.
“
Warrantholder ” has the meaning set forth in Section
2.
“
Warrant ” means this Warrant, issued pursuant to the
Purchase Agreement.
2.
Number of Shares; Exercise Price. This certifies
that, for value received, the United States Department of the
Treasury or its permitted assigns (the “ Warrantholder
”) is entitled, upon the terms and subject to the conditions
hereinafter set forth, to acquire from the Company, in whole or in
part, after the receipt of all applicable Regulatory Approvals, if
any, up to an aggregate of the number of fully paid and
nonassessable shares of Preferred Stock set forth in Item 7 of
Schedule A hereto (the “ Shares ”), at a
purchase price per share of Preferred Stock equal to the Exercise
Price.
3.
Exercise of Warrant; Term. Subject to Section 2,
to the extent permitted by applicable laws and regulations, the
right to purchase the Shares represented by this Warrant is
exercisable, in whole or in part by the Warrantholder, at any time
or from time to time after the execution and delivery of this
Warrant by the Company on the date hereof, but in no event later
than 5:00 p.m., New York City time on the tenth anniversary of the
Issue Date (the “ Expiration Time ”), by (A) the
surrender of this Warrant and Notice of Exercise annexed hereto,
duly completed and executed on behalf of the Warrantholder, at the
principal executive office of the Company located at the address
set forth in Item 8 of Schedule A hereto (or such other office or
agency of the Company in the United States as it may designate by
notice in writing to the Warrantholder at the address of the
Warrantholder appearing on the books of the Company), and (B)
payment of the Exercise Price for the Shares thereby purchased, by
having the Company withhold, from the shares of Preferred Stock
that would otherwise be delivered to the Warrantholder upon such
exercise, shares of Preferred Stock issuable upon exercise of the
Warrant with an aggregate Liquidation Amount equal in value to the
aggregate Exercise Price as to which this Warrant is so
exercised.
If the Warrantholder does not exercise this
Warrant in its entirety, the Warrantholder will be entitled to
receive from the Company within a reasonable time, and in any event
not exceeding three business days, a new warrant in substantially
identical form for the purchase of that number of Shares equal to
the difference between the number of Shares subject to this Warrant
and the number of Shares as to which this Warrant is so
exercised. Notwithstanding anything in this Warrant to
the contrary, the Warrantholder hereby acknowledges and agrees that
its exercise of this Warrant for Shares is subject to the condition
that the Warrantholder will have first received any applicable
Regulatory Approvals.
4.
Issuance of Shares; Authorization. Certificates
for Shares issued upon exercise of this Warrant will be issued in
such name or names as the Warrantholder may designate and will be
delivered to such named Person or Persons within a reasonable time,
not to exceed three business days after the date on which this
Warrant has been duly exercised in accordance with the terms of
this Warrant. The Company hereby represents and warrants
that any Shares issued upon the exercise of this Warrant in
accordance with the provisions of Section 3 will be duly and
validly authorized and issued, fully paid and nonassessable and
free from all taxes, liens and charges (other than liens or charges
created by the Warrantholder, income and franchise taxes incurred
in connection with the exercise of the Warrant or taxes in respect
of any transfer occurring contemporaneously
therewith). The Company agrees that the Shares so issued
will be deemed to have been issued to the Warrantholder as of the
close of business on the date on which this Warrant and payment of
the Exercise Price are delivered to the Company in accordance with
the terms of this Warrant, notwithstanding that the stock transfer
books of the Company may then be closed or certificates
representing such Shares may not be actually delivered on such
date. The Company will at all times reserve and keep available, out
of its authorized but unissued preferred stock, solely for the
purpose of providing for the exercise of this Warrant, the
aggregate number of shares of Preferred Stock then issuable upon
exercise of this Warrant at any time.