Mutual stockholdings that are meant to foil any takeover bids by a third party. In other words, it is a situation where two companies (or more) own stock in each other in order to prevent any attempts by others to take over either/ any of them.

Under certain regulatory regimes, reciprocal holdings may not be legal, or at least there is a cap imposed on the percentage of holdings (e.g., not to exceed 10% at best).