A company’s assets should be protected by its owner. It is a legal requirement that owners protect their assets. Through the years, many strategies have been developed to help them achieve their goals. Diversifying a company into a group of companies under one holding company can be a very successful strategy. In this article, we will discuss this time-tested approach in greater detail as a risk mitigation strategy. Was ist eine Holding and what are its goals will be discussed below.
How to Define a Holding Company?
The holding company is a parent company, usually a corporation or a limited liability company, that does not produce anything, does not sell anything, or does any business operations. The purpose of a company, as implied by its name, is to hold shares in other companies. Through their subsidiaries, they either conduct manufacturing, selling, or other business activities. An operating company is a type of company in this category. Furthermore, the companies’ subsidiaries may own real estate, intellectual property, vehicles, equipment, or any other asset of value that they use.
In some holding companies, a subsidiary can be controlled with 100% ownership, while in others, just enough stock or membership interests will suffice. In the case of a vote of owners, if it has control, it will get its way in the event it holds stock or membership interests. The company is usually owned by 51% of its owners, but can be much lower if there are many shareholders.
Each subsidiary has a separate management team that is responsible for managing its daily operations. A holding company’s management team is responsible for overseeing the subsidiaries. Managers and directors of corporations and limited liability companies can be elected or removed from office, and they can make major policy decisions like mergers and dissolutions. Operating companies make their own decisions on a day-to-day basis.
How Do Holding Companies Finance Themselves?
These decisions are also made by the management of the holding company. A holding company can also borrow funds to finance its investments, in addition to selling equity in its subsidiaries or itself. Apart from dividends, distributions, interest payments, rents, and payments for backend services provided by subsidiaries, a firm’s revenue may also include dividends, distributions, interest payments, and rent.
Holding Companies Benefit You in What Ways?
There are Many Reasons to use Holding Companies. Among Them are:
1. Limitation of Liability
It is common practice to put companies and the assets they use in separate entities so that they are not liable for one another. This method avoids the risk of subsidiaries defaulting on their debts. It is impossible for creditors of a subsidiary to access funds held by the holding company or another subsidiary.It is impossible for creditors of a subsidiary to access funds held by the holding company or another subsidiary.
Trainers and veterinarians in a horse farm owned by entrepreneurs are having difficulty getting paid. They can also sue and reach assets owned by the subsidiary, including the horse farm, a restaurant, and an apartment building. However, the assets owned by the holding company can also be reached.
2. Reduce The Amount Of Money You Spend On Assets
The holding company may not own all the shares in the subsidiary despite its status as a holding company. Therefore, the holding company can acquire control over another company at a reduced cost compared to acquiring the company’s entire shares.
3. A Lower Cost of Debt Financing
Operating companies often also receive loans at lower interest rates from holding companies that have strong financial strength, especially when the company is a start-up or an enterprise considered a credit risk. It is possible for funds to be distributed to the subsidiary through a loan from the holding company.
4. Foster Innovation
By separating running companies from risky initiatives, you can invest in less risky ventures. Among the reasons Google restructured and formed Alphabet as its holding company was shareholder concern about investments in areas like life sciences, Google glasses, robotics, and medical research.
A restructuring of the company separated these investments from its profitable core businesses, including its search engine business and YouTube business.