Holding company
A company whose purpose is owning shares in other companies rather than trading itself.
A holding company exists to own things. It typically has no products, few employees and no operations of its own; its assets are shares in the companies that do the work.
Groups use holding companies to separate liabilities, to hold assets in a favourable jurisdiction, or to keep a family's control intact while outside investors hold economic interests. Berkshire Hathaway is the best-known example in consumer goods. Many brand acquisitions are made through a purpose-built holding entity that appears in the filings and then never again.