The company's purpose is to acquire and hold participations in domestic and foreign companies of all kinds, primarily in connection with the manufacture and trade of chemical and biochemical products, as well as to provide holding services for the group companies. The company may acquire real estate and participate in other companies, acquire or establish similar or related companies, and enter into all transactions and conclude contracts that are suitable to promote the purpose of the company or are directly or indirectly related to it. It may establish branches in Switzerland and abroad. It may acquire, manage and exploit intellectual property rights. The company may grant direct or indirect financing to its direct or indirect subsidiaries and third parties, including its direct or indirect shareholders and their direct or indirect subsidiaries, provide security of all kinds for its own liabilities and those of other companies (including direct or indirect shareholders of the company or companies in which these shareholders are directly or indirectly involved), including by way of pledges on or fiduciary transfers or assignments of the company's assets, or provide guarantees, enter into sureties or otherwise secure or guarantee obligations of the company or these other companies, whether for consideration or not. Furthermore, it may operate a liquidity adjustment/concentration of net quality (cash pooling) with the aforementioned companies or join such a system, including periodic account balancing. All of this may be done by the company without consideration, on preferential terms, without interest, excluding the company's profit motive, and assuming cluster risks.