parent company

View more Business & Finance videos

company that owns or controls subsidiaries through the ownership of voting stock. A parent company is usually an operating company in its own right; where it has no business of its own, the term Holding Company is often preferred.

Previous:	Paradox of Savings (or thrift), Par Value of Currency
Next:	Pareto’s Law, Parity

This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

An enterprise, which is also known as a parent corporation, that owns more than 50 percent of the voting shares of its subsidiary.

A company that controls other companies by owning an influential amount of voting stock.

Investopedia Says:
Companies can become parent companies by many different means. The two most common ways are through (1) acquisitions of smaller companies and (2) the spinoff or creation of subsidiaries.

Related Links:
Be a savvy investor - learn how corporate actions affect you as a shareholder. What Are Corporate Actions?
Learn what corporate restructuring is, why companies do it and why it sometimes doesn't work. The Basics Of Mergers And Acquisitions
Companies use M&As and spinoffs to boost profits - learn how you can do the same. Cashing In On Corporate Restructuring
In the dramatic world of M&As, battleground terms meld with bizarre metaphors to form the language of the game. Mergers And Acquisitions: Understanding Takeovers