The company's purpose is to acquire, hold, manage and sell participations and companies. 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 contracts that may be suitable to promote the purpose of the company, or that are directly or indirectly related thereto. It may acquire, lease, rent, encumber and sell real estate in Switzerland and abroad. The company may acquire, hold, manage or sell any kind of debt or securities in Switzerland or abroad. The company may provide 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, 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), provide securities of any kind, including by way of pledges or fiduciary transfers or assignments of the company's assets, or provide guarantees, enter into sureties or otherwise secure or guarantee the company's or these other companies' obligations, whether for consideration or not. Furthermore, it may engage in liquidity balancing/cash concentration (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.