Company: EQS
Filing Date: 2025-04-23
Form Type: PRE 14A
Source: 0001712543-25-000025
Chunk: 51

Company: EQUUS TOTAL RETURN, INC.
Filing Date: 2025-04-23
Form: PRE 14A
Chunk 51
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 of these alternatives will be available on acceptable terms, or at all, in the
current market environment or in the foreseeable future.

Required Vote

Approval of the Stock Issuance Proposal requires the
affirmative vote of the holders of a majority in voting power of the votes cast by holders of common stock. Abstentions and broker non-votes,
if any, will have no effect on the vote on the Stock Issuance Proposal.

Recommendation of the Board

<div align='center'>THE BOARD RECOMMENDS A VOTE

“FOR”

THE PROPOSAL TO AUTHORIZE THE COMPANY TO SELL OR OTHERWISE ISSUE

SHARES OF ITS COMMON STOCK IN EXCESS OF 19.99% OF ITS OUTSTANDING SHARES

IN CONNECTION WITH THE CONVERSION OF THE INVESTMENT NOTE AND THE EXERCISE OF THE WARRANTS AND IN ONE OR MORE FUTURE OFFERINGS</div>

| 42 |

<div align='center'>PROPOSAL 6—GIVING THE BOARD THE DISCRETION

TO AUTHORIZE IN THE FUTURE, FOR A PERIOD NOT EXCEEDING ONE YEAR

THE REVERSE STOCK SPLIT</div>

Background

We are asking our stockholders to approve
an amendment to our Certificate of Incorporation, which the Board has approved and declared advisable, to provide the Board the discretion
in the future, for a period not exceeding one year, to authorize a reverse stock split (the “Reverse Stock Split”)
of all issued and outstanding shares of our common stock, at a ratio ranging from 2:1 to 5:1, inclusive.

The primary purpose of the Reverse
Stock Split, if effected, is to raise the per share trading price of our common stock by reducing the number of outstanding shares
in order to maintain our listing on the NYSE. On April 10 through April 15, 2025, the closing trading price of our shares was below
$1.00. Under Section 802.01C of the NYSE Listed Company Manual, a company is required to maintain an average closing price of at
least $1.00 over thirty consecutive trading days (the “Average Price Rule”). Companies whose shares trade
below this threshold for an average of thirty consecutive days are subject to suspension and possible delisting if they fail to
comply with the Average Price Rule within six months of receiving written notice from the NYSE. As of the date of this Proxy
Statement, the Company has not received any notice from the NY