Any exit strategy in a joint venture?

I am currently in a joint venture with another company to pursue a business opportunity, but I am aware that unforeseen circumstances can arise that may require one or both companies to exit the joint venture. However, I am unclear on what exit strategies are available in a joint venture, including how assets and liabilities are divided, and how the joint venture is dissolved. Therefore, I would like to seek the advice of a lawyer to help me understand the legal and financial considerations involved in developing an exit strategy for my joint venture.

JOSEPH L.

ContractsCounsel verified

Business Lawyer

Licensed in Connecticut

Free Consultation

A joint venture, unlike a partnership, is not considered a seprate legal entity for tax purposes and does not require a seprate tax ID number. A Joint Venture Agreement, is kind of like an LLC operating Agreement entered into by two or more persons and treated as a partnership. The Joint Venture Agreement, like the operating agreement of an LLC, is the document that should explain the purpose of the joint venture and cover situations like confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-solicitation, non-competition, fiduciary duties, if any, and the exit strategy, to name a few. The exit strategy could be dissolution of the joint venture, buyout by one or more of the parties to the joint venture, or sale to a third party. When I represent on of the parties to the joint venutre I usually start with a term sheet and go over all these items and get feed back from the parties before starting to draft the Joint Venture Agreement. https://www.josephblarocco.com/joint-venture-agreement.html

Donya G.

ContractsCounsel verified

Business Lawyer

Licensed in Connecticut, New York

Free Consultation

Did you and the company not sign an agreement to govern the joint venture? If you haven't already done so, that is the first thing to do. The agreement would outline how the assets and liabilities would be divided, how to dissolve the venture, what happens upon dissolution and everything you both agreed to. Without an agreement in place it then would depend on the parties to agree. Without an agreement, either party can change their minds. If you need assistance in drafting the joint venture, I can assist. You can find me on the Contracts Counsel website or on my personal page Donya Gordon Donya Gordon