5.3 No Solicitation. (a) No Solicitation or Negotiation. Subject to the terms of Section 5.3(b), from December 11, 2020 until the earlier to occur of the termination of this Agreement pursuant to Article VIII and the Offer Acceptance Time, the Company Parties will cease and cause to be terminated any discussions or negotiations with any Person and its Affiliates, directors, officers, employees, consultants, agents, representatives and   -63-


advisors (collectively, “Representatives”) that would be prohibited by this Section 5.3(a), request the prompt return or destruction of all non-public information concerning the Company Group theretofore furnished to any such Person with whom a confidentiality agreement was entered into at any time within the six month period immediately preceding December 11, 2020 and will (A) cease providing any further information with respect to the Company Parties or any Acquisition Proposal to any such Person or its Representatives; and (B) terminate all access granted to any such Person and its Representatives to any physical or electronic data room. Subject to the terms of Section 5.3(b), from December 11, 2020 until the earlier to occur of the termination of this Agreement pursuant to Article VIII and the Offer Acceptance Time, the Company Group will not, and will not instruct, authorize or knowingly permit any of its Representatives to, directly or indirectly, (i) solicit, initiate, propose or induce the making, submission or announcement of, or knowingly encourage, facilitate or assist, any proposal or inquiry that constitutes, or is reasonably expected to lead to, an Acquisition Proposal; (ii) furnish to any Person (other than to the Parent Entities or any designees of the Parent Entities) any non-public information relating to the Company Group or afford to any Person access to the business, properties, assets, books, records or other non-public information, or to any personnel, of the Company Group (other than the Parent Entities or any designees of the Parent Entities), in any such case with the intent to induce the making, submission or announcement of, or to knowingly encourage, facilitate or assist, any proposal or inquiry that constitutes, or is reasonably expected to lead to, an Acquisition Proposal or any inquiries or the making of any proposal that would reasonably be expected to lead to an Acquisition Proposal; (iii) participate or engage in discussions or negotiations with any Person with respect to an Acquisition Proposal (other than informing such Persons of the provisions contained in this Section 5.3 and contacting the Person making the Acquisition Proposal to the extent necessary to clarify the terms of the Acquisition Proposal); (iv) approve, endorse or recommend any proposal that constitutes, or is reasonably expected to lead to, an Acquisition Proposal; or (v) enter into any letter of intent, memorandum of understanding, merger agreement, acquisition agreement or other Contract relating to an Acquisition Transaction, other than an Acceptable Confidentiality Agreement (any such letter of intent, memorandum of understanding, merger agreement, acquisition agreement or other Contract relating to an Acquisition Transaction, an “Alternative Acquisition Agreement”). From December 11, 2020 until the earlier to occur of the termination of this Agreement pursuant to Article VIII and the Company Merger Effective Time, the Company will not be required to enforce, and will be permitted to waive, any provision of any standstill or confidentiality agreement solely to the extent that such provision prohibits or purports to prohibit a confidential proposal being made to the Company Board (or any committee thereof).  (Pages 67-68)

Question: No-Shop
Category: Deal Protection and Related Provisions
Answer: Strict liability