Understanding ownership chains on companydata.dk

Who actually owns the company? Many Danish companies are not owned directly by a person, but through a chain of holding companies. A property might be owned by a property company, which is owned by a holding company, which is owned by a natural person. companydata.dk maps these chains automatically, so you can follow ownership from company to company — all the way up to the beneficial owner.

The corporate tree on the company page

Every company page has a visual corporate tree showing the ownership structure in three tiers: owners at the top, the current company in the centre, and subsidiaries at the bottom. Owners and subsidiaries are connected with arrows, so you see the hierarchy at a glance.

For each owner and subsidiary, the tree shows:

• Name and CVR number (for companies) — click to go to the company page
• Ownership share shown as an interval (e.g. 33.33-49.99%) — explained below
• Icon: blue building icon for company owners, blue person icon for natural persons
• Subsidiaries also show active/inactive status — inactive ones are greyed out

The first three owners and three subsidiaries are shown by default. If the company has more, you can expand the list with one click.

How do you read CVR ownership shares?

CVR does not record exact ownership percentages. Danish law only requires ownership to be reported at specific thresholds: 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, one third, half, two thirds, 90%, and 100%. That is why companydata.dk shows ownership as intervals — for example "33.33-49.99%" — because that is what CVR reports.

The ten intervals are:

1. 5-9.99% — lowest reporting threshold
2. 10-14.99%
3. 15-19.99%
4. 20-24.99%
5. 25-33.32%
6. 33.33-49.99% — over one third (blocking minority)
7. 50-66.65% — majority
8. 66.66-89.99% — over two thirds (qualified majority)
9. 90-99.99%
10. 100% — full ownership

Indirect ownership and ownership paths

The corporate tree shows direct ownership — who directly holds shares in the company. But a person can also own indirectly, for example through a holding company. companydata.dk calculates these indirect ownerships automatically and displays them on the participant page.

For each indirect ownership, the page shows:

• Company name and CVR number (clickable link to the company page)
• Effective ownership share — the calculated percentage through the entire chain
• Effective voting rights — shown only if they differ from the ownership share
• Depth — number of steps in the ownership chain (e.g. depth 2 = ownership through two intermediary companies)
• Ownership path — a visual chain showing each step: Person → Holding ApS (50%) → Operating A/S (100%)

The effective ownership share is calculated by multiplying the ownership shares through the chain. If you own 50% of a holding company that owns 100% of an operating company, your effective ownership in the operating company is 50%. Every company in the path is a clickable link.

Who are the beneficial owners?

Beneficial owners are the natural persons who ultimately control a company — even if ownership passes through several holding companies. Since 2017, Danish companies have been required to register their beneficial owners in CVR as part of anti-money laundering regulation.

In the corporate tree, beneficial owners are the person nodes you see at the top of the structure. companydata.dk retrieves this information directly from CVR. Click on a person and you go to their participant page, where you can see all their roles across companies — direct ownership, indirect ownership, board positions, and director roles.

Using ownership chains in practice

Ownership chains are useful in several contexts:

• Due diligence — uncover the real ownership structure behind a company before entering an agreement
• Credit assessment — combine ownership data with the CDS score to assess financial health
• Group overview — see parent companies, sister companies, and subsidiaries in one view
• Property analysis — follow ownership from a property to the company that owns it, and onward to the beneficial owner
• KYC and compliance — identify beneficial owners as part of anti-money laundering checks