Subsidiary

<p>A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a <a href="/facts/Company_(law)/psBVz9jr">company</a> completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the <a href="/facts/Parent_company/nBGIp6rU">parent company</a> or <a href="/facts/Holding_company/nBGIp6rU">holding company</a>, which has legal and financial control over the subsidiary company. Unlike regional branches or divisions, subsidiaries are considered to be distinct entities from their parent companies; they are required to follow the laws of where they are incorporated, and they maintain their own executive leadership. Two or more subsidiaries primarily controlled by same entity/group are considered to be sister companies of each other.
</p><p>Subsidiaries are a common feature of modern business, and most <a href="/facts/Multinational_corporation/qrMQSMTb">multinational corporations</a> organize their operations via the creation and purchase of subsidiary companies. Examples of holding companies are <a href="/facts/Berkshire_Hathaway/auQhFsAg">Berkshire Hathaway</a>, <a href="/facts/Jefferies_Financial_Group/KPv43N6s">Jefferies Financial Group</a>, <a href="/facts/The_Walt_Disney_Company/R8kCbAVc">The Walt Disney Company</a>, <a href="/facts/Warner_Bros._Discovery/0rV6EadW">Warner Bros. Discovery</a>, and <a href="/facts/Citigroup/GjSFJH49">Citigroup</a>, which have subsidiaries involved in many different <a href="/facts/Industry_(economics)/nlB2hvkF">fields</a>. More focused companies include <a href="/facts/IBM/QszA7nwd">IBM</a>, <a href="/facts/Xerox/qyxVVqaa">Xerox</a>, and <a href="/facts/Microsoft/nGIDDXdx">Microsoft</a>; they and their subsidiaries primarily operate within the <a href="/facts/Technology_company/qdfDdm2m">tech sector</a>. These, and others, organize their businesses into national and functional subsidiaries, often with multiple levels of subsidiaries.
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Subsidiary