The company's purpose is to acquire, finance, sell and manage participations in companies and financial companies. The company may establish branches and subsidiaries in Switzerland and abroad and participate in other companies in Switzerland and abroad. The company may acquire, hold, manage, encumber, utilize and sell real estate and intellectual property rights in Switzerland and abroad. The company may grant direct or indirect financing to its direct or indirect subsidiaries as well as to third parties, including its direct or indirect shareholders and their direct or indirect subsidiaries, provide security of any kind 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 on or fiduciary transfers or assignments of the company's assets, or provide guarantees, enter into suretyships or otherwise secure or guarantee the obligations of the company or these other companies, whether for consideration or not. Furthermore, it may engage in liquidity balancing/concentration of net liquidity (cash pooling) with the aforementioned companies or join such an arrangement, including periodic account balancing. This may also be done without consideration, on preferential terms, without interest, excluding the company's profit motive and assuming cluster risks. The company may engage in all commercial, financial and other activities that appear to promote the company's purpose or are related thereto.