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Keiretsu (系列) is a Japanese term for a set of companies with interlocking business relationships and shareholdings. The "Big Six" keiretsu are Mitsui, Mitsubishi, Sumitomo, Fuyo (formed pricipally from the old Yasuda zaibatsu), Sanwa, and Dai–Ichi Kangyo.
The term is rarely used by Western companies; one notable exception is the venture capital firm of Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers, which encourages transactions among companies in which it holds a stake.