Business 

Understanding the structure of a company helps you:

• assess whether to search on a different name or on the parent company to get the most information

• track turnover within a company, or track a company's stability over time

• determine ownership, products, and brands

These key terms are used by Dun & Bradstreet.  Consult individual business sources to understand their definitions. 

Corporate Family Location
Top-most company of a corporate family

Headquarters
Main office of a company. Implies existence of one or more branches reporting to it, under same name.

Branch
Secondary location of a company. Reports to headquarters and carries same name as headquarters.

Division
Secondary location of a company. Reports to headquarters but usually has a distinct name or trade name.

Parent
Corporation that owns more than 50% of the voting stock of another corporation (the subsidiary).

Subsidiary
Corporation in which more than 50% of its voting stock is owned by another company

(Source: Pagell, Ruth A. and Michael Halperin. International Business Information: How to Find It, How to Use It. 2nd.ed., p. 155)

Print and Electronic Directories
 
Besides a company's website, some business directories trace corporate structure. Tip: When figuring total sales for a company through directories, you may need to analyze multiple records (e.g. for the headquarters and branches) for a fuller picture. Consult the introduction or the publisher for clarification.
 
Directory of Corporate Affiliations (public, private, U.S. and international companies)
General Reference HG4057.A217
Online version

International Directory of Company Histories
General Reference HD271 2.I57 1988 QUARTO
Search index of latest vol. for name of company, or its parent, to see which volumes contain profiles. Good for in-depth history, founders, personnel, changes, and mergers & acquisitions.

Brands and their Companies
General Reference T 223.V4A23 (latest ed.), earlier ones in main collection.

ReferenceUSA
Listings for over 12 million public and private companies and nonprofit organizations are based on annual reports, national phone books, newspapers, post office forms and legal filings. 

Guided search enables one to select the company's status or type of location.

Up and down arrows by results depict corporate hierarchy. Click on arrows to see what a company owns, or who owns that company. Parent company record will have both an up and down arrow by its name. 

Dun & Bradstreet's Million Dollar Database
Lists public and private companies with over a million or more in sales, twenty or more full-time employees, or fifty employees at a branch. Can limit search criteria to subsidiary or non-subsidiary status or type of location (headquarter, branch, or single location). 

Mergent Online
Individual profiles concisely outline a company's history.  Other search methods include: 1) a basic search on the name of a subsidiary, or 2) an advanced "text" search on a company name in "business history."

Lexis-Nexis Academic
Use both the Business tab, and the company search under General, to find different company profiles, announcements, and news.

Annual Reports

Annual Reports will list the company's structure and information on its mergers and acquisitions.

Articles and News

Use the Articles and News tabs to search for timely information on a company's structure and related changes.

Mergers and Acquisitions

Private Company Research

Annual Reports