corporate-ownership

Map the corporate ownership structure for $ARGUMENTS.

Step 1: Primary registration

Look up the company's official registration record. This establishes the legal entity, jurisdiction, and current status.

Australia:

• ASIC Connect — company extract includes current and historical directors, shareholders for proprietary companies, registered office, date of registration, and current status
• ABN Lookup — ABN/ACN cross-reference, business name registration, GST registration status

New Zealand:

• NZ Companies Office — director history, shareholding structure, registered office, annual returns, filing history

United Kingdom:

• Companies House — full filing history, director history, PSC register (persons with significant control = beneficial owners), accounts

United States:

• State secretary of state portals for private companies (coverage varies)
• SEC EDGAR for public companies — 10-K lists subsidiaries

Global cross-reference:

• OpenCorporates — cross-jurisdiction search, links entities across registries

Step 2: Beneficial ownership

Identify who ultimately controls or owns the company beyond the registered directors.

Sources:

• UK PSC register (Companies House) — requires disclosure of beneficial owners holding 25%+ control
• ICIJ Offshore Leaks Database — offshore structures from leaked datasets (Panama Papers, Pandora Papers, etc.). Public data only.
• ABN Lookup for AU — parent entity relationships sometimes disclosed
• SEC 13D/13G filings for US public companies — major shareholder disclosures

Note: beneficial ownership disclosure requirements vary by jurisdiction. Absence of disclosed owners doesn't mean there aren't any.

Step 3: Director networks

Map all director appointments across the entity:

• Identify current and historical directors from the primary registration
• For each director, search their other company appointments:
  • AU: ASIC Connect director search
  • NZ: NZ Companies Office director search
  • UK: Companies House director search
  • Global: OpenCorporates officer search

Director networks often reveal undisclosed relationships between apparently separate entities.

Step 4: Subsidiary mapping

For the target company, identify subsidiaries and related entities:

• SEC 10-K Exhibit 21 (US public companies) — lists all subsidiaries
• Companies House group structures (UK)
• ASX/NZX annual report subsidiaries note (AU/NZ public companies)
• ASIC Connect — corporate group searches

Step 5: Related entities

Look for entities that share:

• The same registered address
• The same directors (cross-reference Step 3 results)
• The same registered agent
• Similar naming patterns

OpenCorporates "related companies" and ViewDNS.info reverse WHOIS (for digital footprint overlap) can help here.

Rules

• Document the jurisdiction for every entity in the ownership chain.
• Distinguish between registered ownership (what the registry shows) and beneficial ownership (who actually controls the entity). These often differ.
• Note when an ownership chain terminates in a jurisdiction with limited disclosure requirements (offshore structures, certain US states) — this is a significant finding, not a gap.
• ICIJ data covers specific leaked datasets — it's a signal, not a comprehensive offshore registry. Absence from ICIJ doesn't mean no offshore structure.

Output format

## Corporate ownership: [Company name]

**Date:** [today]
**Primary jurisdiction:** [AU / NZ / UK / US / other]
**Registration number:** [if known]

### Primary registration

| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Legal name | — |
| Registration number | — |
| Jurisdiction | — |
| Status | Active / Deregistered / other |
| Registered office | — |
| Date registered | — |

### Directors (current)

| Name | Role | Appointed | Other appointments |
|---|---|---|---|

### Directors (historical)

[Notable past directors and tenure periods]

### Ownership structure

[Shareholders / beneficial owners disclosed in registries — with jurisdiction of disclosure]

### Subsidiaries

[Known subsidiaries with jurisdiction]

### Related entities

[Entities sharing directors, address, or registered agent]

### Offshore/complex structure notes

[Any indications of offshore holding structures or jurisdictions with limited disclosure]

### Director network map

[Cross-appointments that link this entity to others]

### Sources

1. [Registry](URL) — [what it contributed]