The company's purpose, both in Switzerland and abroad, is to participate in all commercial, industrial and financial enterprises, to establish branches or subsidiaries; to engage in all financial, commercial, industrial, movable or immovable activities (with the exception of operations prohibited by the LFAIE) directly or indirectly related to its purpose; to file, acquire, hold and sell patents or other intellectual property rights, as well as acquire, hold and grant licenses; to grant loans or guarantees to shareholders, subsidiaries, parent companies, sister companies or third parties, if it serves its interests or those of the group of companies to which it belongs; to carry out all cash pooling activities for the account of the group to which it belongs.