The company's purpose is to acquire, hold, manage, exploit and dispose of direct and indirect participations in companies of all kinds, as well as to provide all related services. The company may establish branches in Switzerland and abroad, set up subsidiaries, participate in related companies, and acquire, hold, manage, encumber, exploit and dispose of real estate and intellectual property rights. The company may grant direct or indirect financing to its direct or indirect subsidiaries and to third parties, including its direct or indirect shareholders and their (direct or indirect) subsidiaries, and provide security 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, fiduciary transfers or assignments of the company's assets or guarantees, enter into joint and several liability or suretyships, or otherwise secure or guarantee the obligations of these other companies, whether for consideration or not. Furthermore, the company may engage in cash pooling with the aforementioned companies, including periodic account balancing, or join such an arrangement, including without consideration, on preferential terms, without interest, excluding the company's profit motive, and assuming cluster risks. In addition, the company may carry out all commercial, financial and other activities that appear to promote the company's purpose or are related to it.