parent company

American  

noun

1. a corporation or other business enterprise that owns controlling interests in one or more subsidiary companies (holding company ).

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parent company British  

noun

1. a company that owns more than half the shares of another company

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Etymology

Origin of parent company

First recorded in 1865–70

Example Sentences

In 2025, its parent company Endeavor went private in a deal with private-equity firm Silver Lake and was renamed WME Group.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 2, 2026

He became the chief executive of British Airways in 2005 and ended a 15-year-long career with its parent company International Airlines Group in 2020.

From BBC • Apr. 1, 2026

Shares of Franklin Resources, the manager’s parent company, have declined about 1% this year.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

Flutter, the parent company of U.S. sports betting firm FanDuel, was up 5.0% while DraftKings was up 2.3%.

From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026

My team and I persuaded Darden Restaurants, the parent company behind chains like Olive Garden and Red Lobster, to make changes to the kinds of food it offered and how it was prepared.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama