The term joint venture is most commonly used to describe an arrangement where two (or more) businesses create a separate joint venture business. But any kind of collaboration with another company could be described as a joint venture. For example:
- Contractual arrangements such as entering into a distribution agreement.
- Setting up a separate joint venture company to carry out a specific (and often finite) project such as development of a new product.
- Forming a partnership.
- Merging two businesses.
Joint ventures generally involve some sharing of resources and risks.
