Subsidiary DLC — Tips and FAQ

Everything on this page applies to the Subsidiary DLC: setting up subsidiary companies, deciding how much of their day-to-day running you take on yourself, raising money through IPOs and share issues, and reorganising a group once it grows. Each answer links to the page that covers the feature in full.

In this guide:

• Requirements at a glance
• Getting started
• Building and funding a subsidiary
• How much control you actually have
• IPOs, shares and dividends
• Transfers and mergers
• Retail floors, customization and Radical R&D
• FAQ

Requirements at a glance

Most questions about this DLC come down to one number: how much of the subsidiary you own. This table collects the thresholds and prerequisites scattered across the feature pages.

Getting started

Turn the DLC on before you start a game

Click the [DLC] icon on the main menu and switch the Subsidiary DLC On. None of the features below appear until you do. See DLC Menu.

Decide the shape of the game before you start it

Three settings on the Environment page change how the whole game plays out, and none of them can be changed later:

• Subsidiaries — how many subsidiaries you own at the start. Starting with one or two is the quickest way to learn the control and policy screens without also having to fund a company from nothing.
• Private Company — start privately held rather than listed, and choose your own moment to go public.
• Retail Store Floors — set this to Multiple if you want the multi-floor retail system at all.

On the Competitors page, Private Companies % sets how many of your AI rivals begin as private companies. Full details on DLC New Game Settings.

The DLC adds five scenarios

Enable the DLC, open the Scenario screen from the main menu, then click the Subsidiary DLC button at the top. See New Scenarios.

Building and funding a subsidiary

Budget more than the minimum

A new subsidiary needs at least $20 million of initial capital and the parent company must hold that cash. The capital is what the new company will build with, so a subsidiary founded at exactly the minimum will do very little for a long time. Open Financial Actions in the Information Center (F11) and choose Set Up a New Subsidiary Company — see Set Up a New Subsidiary Company.

Choose the founding CEO carefully

You hire a CEO as part of creating the company, and replacing that CEO later is not a decision to take lightly: a new hire may demand a high salary, while a founder-CEO is often content with a much lower one. See Greater Control over Subsidiaries.

If a subsidiary sits there doing nothing

Two causes cover almost every case. Its cash reserves may be too low for the CEO to act — a conservative CEO expands only when the company is holding a lot of cash — or you have not set any Expansion Strategies for that CEO. See Why is my subsidiary idle and not setting up new firms?

How much control you actually have

75% is the number that matters

At 75% ownership or more you can hire the subsidiary’s COO, CTO and CMO, set up new departments in its headquarters, change its human resources, investor relations and public relations policies, and build new firms on its behalf — the Build menu gains a window listing your subsidiaries alongside your own company. At the firm level you can change 3×3 layouts, set up functional units, adjust training budgets, close or relocate firms, change brand strategy, prices and internal sale status, and set a media firm’s advertising price and content budget.

Your firm-level changes will not stick on their own

This surprises most players. If you change a price or a setting in a subsidiary’s firm, the AI manager of that firm will make their own decision shortly afterwards and it will supersede yours. There are two ways to make a change permanent:

• Assign yourself as the firm’s manager. Click the Assign Manager icon in the firm and select yourself, the Chairman. This releases the AI manager from the role.
• Set the manager to “Temporarily Idle”. The AI manager stops actively managing tasks, but the firm keeps the benefit of their expertise — the better option when you want to steer a firm for a while without losing a good manager’s contribution.

Policies apply to the CEO and the COO together

The Management Policies page shares its list of options with the COO’s management policies. Change an option in one place and it applies to both, which is deliberate — it keeps policy consistent across the company. Reach it from the [Management Policies] button on the Overview page of the subsidiary’s Corporate Details, or from Persons → Career in the Information Center. See Subsidiary Company’s Management Policies.

Set the Scope of Production early, or not at all

The Scope of Production page lets you name product classes your subsidiary should stay out of — useful when you do not want it competing with you. The catch: it only stops the subsidiary from starting production in those classes. If it is already producing them, the policy has no effect. Set it when the subsidiary is founded rather than after it has moved into your market.

Two habits that save a lot of clicking

• Ctrl-X switches whose money you are watching. When you own subsidiaries, your corporate logo appears next to the cash display on the bottom bar. Click it, or press Ctrl-X, to pick a subsidiary — the bar then shows that company’s cash and profit, and the Build Firm menu defaults to the same company. That combination is what makes building out a subsidiary bearable.
• Filter the Corporate Detail Report. The [Subsidiaries Only] button narrows the report to the companies you own. See Improved Management of Your Subsidiary Companies.

Trade inside the group is unrestricted

You can buy products from a subsidiary’s firms even when those products are set to Internal Sale only, and your subsidiary can buy from you on the same terms. Supply chains can therefore be split across companies in the group without penalty.

IPOs, shares and dividends

Starting private and listing later keeps more of the company

If you start as a private company — or set up a private subsidiary — you can execute an IPO at a moment of your choosing. An IPO raises funds and, in most cases, gives the company a higher market valuation than it had while private. Going public later rather than at the start helps you retain more equity. See Initial Public Offering (IPO).

Three ways to get money into a subsidiary

• Capital injection — the simplest, but only available when you own 100%. Financial Actions (F11) → Capital Injection.
• Issue new shares to the public — raises outside money and dilutes your stake. Watch the 75% threshold if you rely on direct control.
• Issue new shares to the parent company — for when you own less than 100% and want to fund the subsidiary yourself. The new shares must be wholly subscribed by the parent and priced above the current market price, so the parent gains no advantage over other shareholders.

See Subsidiary Financial Management.

Dividend payout ratio is not dividend yield

At 75% ownership or more you can either set the dividend yourself or leave it to the subsidiary’s CEO. The Dividend Payout Ratio is the percentage of earnings paid out to shareholders — it is calculated from earnings per share. The Dividend Yield is calculated from the stock price. The graph lower on that screen shows the Actual Dividend Ratio: the latest dividend paid divided by the stock price. A higher payout ratio returns more cash to every shareholder each year, and as majority owner most of that cash returns to you.

Privatization is the IPO in reverse

Buy 100% of a public company’s shares on the stock market, then open Financial Actions (F11), select the company, and click [Privatize This Company]. See Privatization.

Subsidiaries can be bought for what they own

You can sell land plots held by your subsidiaries. A company sitting on valuable plots in prime locations and cheap enough to acquire is therefore worth looking at as a land purchase as much as a business one.

Transfers and mergers

A transfer is a purchase

Moving firms between companies in your group is registered as a business transaction — one company buys the firms from the other — so the receiving company needs enough cash to pay for them. Both companies must be your main company or a subsidiary you own at least 75% of.

• One firm: open the firm’s detail window, click the Relocate/Demolish icon at the top right, and choose the transfer option.
• A whole division: use Mass Transfer Firms from the Corporate Details screen. Filter the firm list by type — Retail Stores, say — then use [Select All] to take the entire sector in one operation.

In a merger, the bigger company acquires

To merge two subsidiaries you need 75% or more of each, and the one with the larger market value must be selected as the acquiring company on the Stock Exchange interface. You then choose whether the acquirer pays cash or issues new shares to buy up the target’s remaining shares. To merge a subsidiary into your own company instead, use the [Merge Company] button on its Corporate Details screen. See Merging Subsidiary Companies.

Groups can be more than two levels deep

Subsidiaries can create subsidiaries of their own, which opens up multi-tiered structures for investment, capital raising, expansion and further IPOs.

Retail floors, customization and Radical R&D

Add a floor only when demand justifies it

A retail store can be expanded to a maximum of three floors, each adding a 3×3 space and letting the store sell more distinct products. Operating overhead rises in direct proportion to the number of floors, so a second floor added before demand exists costs you money every month. Click the [New Floor] icon beneath the 3×3 layout to see the cost first. See Multiple Floors System for Retail Stores.

Radical R&D is a gamble you should hedge

A Radical R&D unit aims for far greater technology gains in far less time, and failure is commonplace — an unsuccessful project loses the entire investment with nothing to show for it. The odds are yours to set: a project aiming for a 200% tech gain succeeds 50% of the time, while aiming for 400% drops that to 25%. Run radical units alongside traditional R&D rather than instead of it, so a run of failures does not leave your technology standing still. See Radical R&D Unit.

Product Customization has a trade-off

Enabling Product Customization automatically disables Technology Disruption, because customization requires technology levels that advance in a single direction. Its range setting decides who it applies to: Low your company only, Medium your company and its subsidiaries, High every company including the AI. See Product Customization.

FAQ

Do I need to own 100% of a subsidiary to control it?

No. 75% is the threshold for direct control — hiring executives, building firms for it, and changing its firms. 100% is needed only for capital injection, and for privatizing a company you have bought off the market.

Why is my subsidiary idle and not setting up new firms?

Either it does not have the cash reserves its CEO wants before expanding — conservative CEOs wait for a large balance — or you have not set its Expansion Strategies. Full answer here.

I changed a price in my subsidiary’s firm and it changed back. Is that a bug?

No. The firm’s AI manager makes their own decisions and those supersede yours shortly after. Assign yourself as the firm’s manager, or set the AI manager to Temporarily Idle, and your changes will hold.

How do I stop my subsidiary competing with me?

Use the Scope of Production page in its Management Policies to list product classes it should not enter. This only prevents it from starting production in those classes — it will not shut down production it has already begun.

How do I put money into a subsidiary?

Capital injection if you own 100%; otherwise issue new shares, either to the public or to the parent company. Shares issued to the parent must be priced above the market price.

Why must shares issued to the parent be priced above the market price?

So that the parent company gains no advantage over the subsidiary’s other shareholders.

Should I start my company private or public?

Starting private lets you pick the moment to go public and retain more equity. An IPO raises funds and usually lifts the company’s valuation above what it was worth privately — so the question is when, not whether.

Can I take a public company private?

Yes. Acquire 100% of its shares from the stock market, then use Privatization on the Financial Actions screen (F11).

How do I merge two of my subsidiaries?

Own 75% or more of each, go to the Stock Exchange interface, select the one with the larger market value as the acquiring company, select the other as the target, and click Merger. You then choose whether the acquirer pays cash or issues new shares for the remaining shares of the target.

How do I move a whole division to another company in my group?

Use Mass Transfer Firms from the Corporate Details screen — filter by firm type, [Select All], then pick the destination company. Remember it is a purchase, so that company needs the cash.

Why can’t I add another floor to my retail store?

Three floors is the maximum. If you see no [New Floor] icon at all, the game was started with Retail Store Floors set to Single rather than Multiple.

Is Radical R&D worth using?

It is worth using in combination with traditional R&D, not on its own. A 200% target succeeds half the time and a 400% target a quarter of the time, and a failed project loses its whole investment. The payoff is a technology lead that ordinary research cannot produce, which matters most in markets where products are otherwise hard to differentiate.

Why did Technology Disruption switch itself off?

Because you enabled Product Customization. The two are incompatible: customization needs technology levels that only advance in one direction.

Can a subsidiary own its own subsidiary?

Yes — subsidiaries can create their own subsidiaries, giving you multi-tiered groups with more room for investment, capital raising and future IPOs.

How do I watch a subsidiary’s cash instead of my own?

Click your corporate logo next to the cash display on the bottom bar, or press Ctrl-X, and select the subsidiary. The Build Firm menu will then default to the same company.

Where are the DLC’s scenarios?

Main menu → Scenario screen → the Subsidiary DLC button at the top of the screen, with the DLC enabled.

Read more

Setup and game options: DLC Menu · DLC New Game Settings · New Scenarios

Subsidiary management: Set Up a New Subsidiary Company · Greater Control over Subsidiaries · Subsidiary Management Policies · Subsidiary Financial Management · Improved Management of Your Subsidiary Companies

IPO, privatization and mergers: Initial Public Offering (IPO) · Privatization · Merging Subsidiary Companies · Mass Transfer Firms

Retail, products and R&D: Multiple Floors System for Retail Stores · Product Customization · Radical R&D Unit

Don’t have the DLC yet? Buy Subsidiary DLC.