The company's purpose is to buy and sell natural gas and other raw materials as well as the products derived from them. The company may participate in other companies, acquire, exploit, manage and sell operating sites, 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 achievement of its purpose 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, its direct or indirect shareholders, and companies in which such parties have a direct or indirect interest, whether through loans or other forms of financing, including within the framework of cash pooling agreements, and provide security of any kind for their liabilities, including by way of pledges on or fiduciary transfers of the company's assets or guarantees of any kind, whether against payment or not.