The purpose of the company is to provide consulting services of all kinds. The company may participate in other companies, acquire, exploit, manage and sell real estate and intellectual property rights, establish subsidiaries and branches in Switzerland and abroad, and carry out all legal transactions that may be necessary or useful for the purpose of the company or for the development of the company or its group companies. The company may grant direct or indirect financing to third parties, including companies in which it has a direct or indirect interest, or to its direct or indirect subsidiaries, or to companies in which such subsidiaries have a direct or indirect interest, whether through loans or other forms of financing, including within the framework of cash pooling agreements, and may provide security of any kind for their obligations, including by way of pledges or fiduciary transfers of the company's assets or by way of guarantees of any kind, whether against payment or not.