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The COCOO-OpenCorporates Doctrine: A Strategic Model for Corporate Network Intelligence

This doctrine establishes a systematic methodology for interrogating OpenCorporates (opencorporates.com), the world’s largest open database of companies. This platform is the central hub for all of COCOO’s corporate intelligence operations. Our mission is to use it not merely as a directory, but as a strategic weapon to map corporate ecosystems, uncover hidden control structures, identify leverage points, and execute COCOO’s core doctrines, including “Stealth Consolidation” (StealthConsolid), “Find Other Claimants, Monetize Damages” (FOC DAM), and the creation of high-value Unsolicited Proposals (USP).1

1. Core Principles of Interrogation

Our use of OpenCorporates is guided by the foundational principles of the COCOO strategic framework. We do not simply look up companies; we dissect their DNA to find actionable intelligence.

  • Mapping the Ecosystem: Our primary objective is to move beyond the single entity and map its entire global corporate ecosystem. This includes all parent companies, subsidiaries, branches, and the network of officers who connect them. This is the bedrock of all our strategic plays.
  • Unmasking Control: We operate on the principle that true control is often obscured. OpenCorporates is our primary tool for identifying common directors, tracing ownership chains across multiple jurisdictions, and unmasking the ultimate beneficial owners behind complex corporate veils. This is fundamental to challenging “Sole or Joint control” structures in MATOIPO events.1
  • The OC-OS Nexus: OpenCorporates is the starting point of the critical RNS OC OS intelligence pipeline.1 We use it to identify the corporate entities and individuals who will then be cross-referenced on OpenSanctions (OS) for sanctions and political exposure, and on regulatory news services (RNS) for market activity.
  • Global Reach for Global Plays: The platform’s coverage of over 140 jurisdictions is essential for executing our international strategies, such as identifying corporate victims of illegal trade barriers for the “USP-to-WTO” pipeline or analyzing the global structure of a target in a merger.

2. Weaponizing the Platform’s Arsenal: Capabilities and Search Rules

Mastering OpenCorporates’ search functionality is critical. While seemingly simple, its power lies in its global scope and the ability to pivot between entities and individuals.2

  • Official Search Rules & Functionality:

    • Dual Search Focus: The platform allows for two distinct searches: by Companies or by Officers. This dual capability is the core of our network analysis, allowing us to pivot from an entity to the people behind it, and vice-versa.2
    • Global Jurisdiction Filter: We can search across All jurisdictions to cast a wide net or filter by a specific country to conduct targeted investigations. This is crucial for tracking the international footprint of a corporate group.2
    • Company Status Filter: The ability to exclude inactive companies allows us to focus our intelligence gathering on live, operational entities, filtering out the noise of dissolved companies.2
    • Advanced Search Options: The platform provides filters to refine searches by company type (e.g., non-profit), whether to include branches, and where the keyword appears in the company record.2
    • Primary Source Links: Every entry contains a link to the original, primary source registry, allowing for direct verification of the data.
    • API Access: The existence of a comprehensive API allows for the potential development of automated monitoring and large-scale data analysis tools, which COCOO can leverage for advanced “Noisefilter” operations.3

  • Critical Limitations:

    • No Industry Code Search: OpenCorporates does not have a function to search by industry classification codes (SIC/NACE). This is a significant limitation. Our doctrine mandates a workaround: identify a UK entity on OpenCorporates, pivot to its official Companies House record to find its SIC code, and then use that SIC code on the Companies House platform to identify all direct competitors.

3. Strategic Interrogation: The Questions We Ask

As COCOO’s solicitor, we interrogate OpenCorporates to find answers to specific strategic questions derived directly from our mind maps.

  • For StealthConsolid & Aggregation:

    • Who are the directors of the small companies being acquired in this sector? Do they share any common directors, suggesting a coordinated but undeclared consolidation effort?
    • What is the full global corporate structure of the acquiring entity? Are they using multiple, seemingly unrelated subsidiaries to execute a creeping takeover?
    • Can we identify a common corporate officer across a series of small acquisitions that, when aggregated, would trigger a merger review threshold (“SOTT”)?

  • For MATOIPO & Control Analysis:

    • What other companies are the directors of the acquiring and target firms involved with? Does this reveal potential conflicts of interest or hidden alliances?
    • Is the acquiring company a subsidiary of a larger, more powerful entity in a different jurisdiction? Who is the ultimate controlling party?
    • What is the date of incorporation for the special purpose vehicle (SPV) being used for the acquisition? Was it created specifically for this deal?

  • For USP-to-WTO & Victim Identification:

    • Which are the major corporate players in the specific industry of Nation A that is being harmed by an illegal trade barrier from Nation B?
    • Are these victim companies domestic entities, or are they subsidiaries of larger multinational corporations who may have different incentives?
    • Who are the directors of these victim companies? Can we leverage their other business connections to gain support for our USP?

4. The COCOO-OpenCorporates Strategic Playbook: A Model for Action

The following playbooks provide standardized, repeatable workflows for using OpenCorporates to generate the foundational intelligence for all COCOO operations.

Playbook A: The “Corporate Ecosystem” Map (Foundational Intelligence)

  • Objective: To create a comprehensive map of a target entity’s entire global corporate network. This is the mandatory first step in any investigation.
  • Execution:
    1. Initial Company Search: Search the target Company name in OpenCorporates with the All jurisdictions filter selected.
    2. Identify Core Entities: From the results, identify the primary operating companies and the ultimate parent entity. Log their jurisdictions, incorporation dates, and current status (active/inactive).
    3. Map the Officer Network: For each key entity, click through to its page and identify all listed Officers (directors, secretaries, etc.).
    4. Pivot to Officer Search: Take the name of each key officer and conduct a new Officer search on OpenCorporates. This will reveal all other companies they are associated with, globally.
    5. Synthesize and Visualize: Consolidate the findings into a network diagram showing the relationships between all identified companies and officers. This map becomes the foundational intelligence document for the case.
  • Strategic Outcome: This playbook provides a complete picture of the target’s structure, size, and the key individuals in control, revealing connections and potential leverage points that are invisible from a single-company view.

Playbook B: The “Stealth Consolidation” Detector

  • Objective: To identify undeclared creeping acquisitions that, when aggregated, represent a significant lessening of competition, forming the basis of a high-impact complaint to regulators.
  • Execution:
    1. Identify Acquirers: Using intelligence from other platforms (e.g., Investegate), identify several companies that have recently made small acquisitions in a specific market segment.
    2. Map Directorates: For each acquiring company, execute Playbook A to identify their current directors.
    3. Find the Common Link: Compare the lists of directors across all the acquiring companies. Search for a common name—often a director appointed by a single private equity fund or holding company.
    4. Confirm the Link: Once a common director is found, perform an Officer search for that individual’s name on OpenCorporates to confirm their directorships across all the acquiring entities.
    5. Build the Case: The presence of a common director across multiple acquiring companies in the same niche market is powerful evidence of a coordinated “Stealth Consolidation” strategy. This evidence is then used to build a formal complaint.
  • Strategic Outcome: This playbook allows COCOO to create high-value competition cases out of seemingly insignificant market activities, positioning COCOO as a uniquely sophisticated market analyst and defender of fair competition.

Playbook C: The “Victim Identification” Protocol (for USP-to-WTO)

  • Objective: To identify and profile the key corporate victims of an illegal trade barrier, providing the raw data needed to build a compelling Unsolicited Proposal to a national government.
  • Execution:
    1. Define the Market: Based on the illegal trade barrier identified (e.g., a discriminatory standard on chemical products from Nation B affecting Nation A), define the target industry in Nation A.
    2. Identify Major Players: Use general market knowledge and other tools to identify the likely top 5-10 companies in that industry within Nation A.
    3. Conduct Ecosystem Mapping: For each identified company, execute Playbook A on OpenCorporates. The primary goal is to understand their corporate structure.
    4. Assess Incentives: Determine if the victim companies are locally owned or subsidiaries of global corporations. A local company has a direct interest in fighting the barrier. A subsidiary’s parent company may have conflicting interests in Nation B, making them reluctant to support litigation. This intelligence is crucial for selecting which victims to approach.
  • Strategic Outcome: This protocol provides COCOO with a detailed understanding of the corporate landscape affected by a trade barrier. It allows us to select the companies whose incentives are most aligned with litigation and to approach their national government with a USP that is already backed by a deep understanding of the key commercial players, a level of detail that government lawyers often lack.1

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