Linkage, in general terms, is the relationship between different companies or specific sites within a corporate family.
Linkage occurs in the D&B global database when one business location has financial & legal responsibility for another business location.
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Corporate parent linkages.pdf
1. Corporate Linkage
Understanding Corporate Relationships Headquarters A headquarters is a business
establishment that has branches or divisions
Linkage, in general terms, is the relationship reporting to it, and is financially responsible for
between different companies or specific sites those branches or divisions. If the headquarters has
within a corporate family. more than 50% of capital stock owned by another
corporation, it also will be a subsidiary. If it owns
Linkage occurs in the D&B global database when more than 50% of capital stock of another
one business location has financial & legal corporation, then it is also a parent.
responsibility for another business location. There
are two types of linkage relationships in the D&B Branch A branch is a secondary location of its
database: headquarters. It has no legal responsibility for
its debts, even though bills may be paid from the
•Branch to headquarter, linkage branch location.
•Subsidiary to parent, linkage
Division A division, like a branch, is a secondary
There are other types of family relationships that location of a business and it carries a branch code
occur which are not linked in the D&B database in the D&B database.
because the affiliated company has no legal
obligation for the debts of the other company. Limited Partnership A limited partnership is a
Examples of these types of relationships include partnership with at least one partner with
businesses affiliated through common officers or management responsibilities (the general partner)
situations where one corporation owns a part or and at least one passive investor (the limited partner).
minority interest in another (50% or less) and
joint ventures, where there is a 50/50 split in Subsidiary A subsidiary is a corporation whose
the ownership. capital stock is more than 50% owned by another
corporation and will have a different legal business
The D&B D-U-N-S Number is a unique, nine-digit; name than its parent.
non-indicative identification number assigned to
every business entity in D&B’s database. The Parent A parent is a corporation that owns more than
D-U-N-S Number is the first step towards 50% of another corporation’s capital stock. The parent
understanding corporate relationships. company can also be a subsidiary of another
corporation. If the parent also has branches, then it is
Understanding Business Classifications a headquarters as well as being a parent company.
There are different classifications for businesses Domestic Ultimate The Domestic Ultimate is an entity
in D&B Global Database within the family tree that is the highest-ranking
member within a specific country.
Stand-Alone Businesses Stand-alone businesses
are entities which do not have any linkage Global Ultimate The Global Ultimate is the top most
relationships e.g. headquarter, parent, branches responsible entity within the global family tree.
or subsidiaries.
Single Location Subsidiary A single location
subsidiary has a parent who owns >50% of its
capital stock, however, it does not have branches
or subsidiaries reporting to it.