How can I find a company's history?
- Hoover'sIncludes company overview, history, products/operations on more than 500 million public and private U.S. companies and international companies. Covers major industry trends, industry links, and IPO information.
- International Directory of Company Histories (St. James Press)Available through Gale. This multi-volume set provides extensive histories on over 11,000 companies. Most are public companies, but some private and non-profit corporations are included.
- MarketLine Company ProfilesAvailable on its own or through EBSCO's Business Source databases. Provides histories on over 30,000 companies.
- PrivCoPrivCo provides business and financial data on major, non-publicly traded corporations, including family owned, private equity owned, venture backed, and international unlisted companies.
How do I find information on or a list of subsidiaries of a company?
The following sources provide a more comprehensive list of subsidiaries and sometimes will provide basic facts on the subsidiary. They are also good sources for providing corporate structures with lists of divisions and subsidiaries. Hint: If the parent corporation is publicly traded, try the parent's annual report to find specific information on subsidiaries or divisions.
- Brands & Their Companies (part of The Gale Directory Library)Covers U.S. consumer brands; manufacturers, importers and distributors; and companies that are out of business, as well as brands that are no longer in production or are now considered generic. Also available as ebook.
- EDGARFinancial reports of U.S. corporations from reports submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Includes annual reports, quarterly reports, balance sheet, income statement, security activity and analysis, and much more. See SEC help guide at https://www.sec.gov/oiea/Article/edgarguide.html
- Hoover'sIncludes company overview, history, products/operations on more than 500 million public and private U.S. companies and international companies. Covers major industry trends, industry links, and IPO information.
- Orbis (formerly Mint Global, Bureau van Dijk Electronic Publishing)Contains comprehensive information on companies worldwide, including: company financials in a standardized format, financial strength indicators, directors and contacts, original filings/images, stock data, detailed corporate and ownership structures, industry research. business and company-related news, and M&A deals and rumors.
- Nexis DossierProvides information on public, international, and private companies. Includes corporate hierarchy and family tree to locate subsidiaries and divisions. Part of Nexis Uni; previously Corporate Affiliations by LexisNexis.
- Reference Solutions (Data Axle)Previously ReferenceUSA from Infogroup. A directory of U.S. and Canadian businesses, residents, healthcare providers, and other optional modules. Information includes estimates for millions of private companies.
- Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC)The SEC requires public companies, including publicly-traded banks, to disclose specific financial and other information to the public. A list of subsidiaries must be disclosed to the SEC as Exhibit 21 to registration statements filed on Forms S-1, S-4, S-11, F-1, F-4, 10.
- ThomasNetSearch over 500,000 North American manufacturers. A good resource for business-to-business information and information on subsidiaries, divisions, and small companies. Provides a catalog file of products manufactured by the companies listed and a means to trace a brand name back to its manufacturer.
