Joint Venture Entity Formation Comparison (Chart)

Summary

This chart sets forth various forms of business entities that a joint venture (JV) may take, and lists many of the most common considerations in choosing a type of entity across business entities found in US jurisdictions. Most joint ventures are structured either as limited liability companies or corporations because these structures provide the most flexibility with regard to management while also protecting the limited liability of the equityholders. It is unusual for a JV to be operated through an S-corporation because all stockholders of an S-corporation must be natural persons and joint ventures are usually undertaken by business entities. For additional information relating to joint ventures, see Joint Venture Resource Kit.