all activities involving the acquisition of direct and indirect participations in any companies or enterprises in the sense of a holding company; the company may also carry out, either on its own account or on behalf of third parties, all commercial, securities and financial transactions, in direct or indirect relation to its purpose, in any form whatsoever, in particular in the form of participations; the company may open branches in Switzerland and abroad, establish or acquire any enterprise pursuing an analogous or complementary purpose; the company may grant loans or any guarantees to its shareholders or to third parties.