Parent company
The company that controls another company or brand, directly or through intermediates.
A parent company controls another entity, usually by owning more than half its voting shares. Control can also come from the right to appoint the board, which is why some parents hold less than 50% and still consolidate the subsidiary in their accounts.
The word is looser in everyday use than in accounting. People asking "who is the parent company of this brand" usually want the ultimate parent: the company at the top of the chain, which answers to nobody but its own shareholders. A brand is often held several layers down. Ben & Jerry's was bought by Conopco, which is a Unilever subsidiary, so its parent was Conopco and its ultimate parent was Unilever.