The company's purpose is to hold and manage participations in companies as well as to manage assets of all kinds. The company may establish branches in Switzerland and abroad, participate in other companies of any kind, assume representations, and enter into any business and conclude any contracts that may be suitable to promote the purpose of the company, or that are directly or indirectly related thereto. It may also enter into loans for its own account or for the account of third parties, as well as guarantee and pledge transactions for affiliated companies and third parties. It may acquire, lease, rent, encumber, and sell real estate in Switzerland and abroad (in Switzerland, excluding transactions subject to the Federal Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Persons Abroad). The company may acquire, hold, manage, or sell any kind of debt or securities in Switzerland or abroad. The company may provide financing for its own account or for the account of third parties. It may grant direct or indirect financing to third parties or companies in which it has a direct or indirect participation, as well as to direct or indirect shareholders or companies in which such shareholders have a direct or indirect participation, whether through loans and/or other financing, including within the framework of cash pooling agreements. The company may provide collateral of any kind for its own liabilities or the liabilities of the aforementioned persons, including through pledges, assignments, fiduciary transfers, guarantees of any kind, or offset obligations, whether for consideration or not, even if such financing, collateral, or guarantees are in the exclusive interest of third parties or companies in which it has a direct or indirect participation, or of direct or indirect shareholders or companies in which such shareholders have a direct or indirect participation.