joint venture

Joint venture

An agreement between two or more firms to undertake the same business strategy and plan of action. See: Incorporated joint venture and Unicorporated joint venture.

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Joint Venture

A project or other business activity in which two persons or companies partner together to conduct the project. In a joint venture, each of the persons or companies in the joint venture is responsible for profits, losses, and operations. A joint venture operates like a partnership and is usually taxed like one. A key difference between a joint venture and a partnership is the fact that a joint venture, when it involves companies, does not necessitate the merging of all the companies' operations and interests; rather, they cooperate for purposes of the joint venture only.

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joint venture

A business undertaken by two or more individuals or companies in an effort to share risk and use differences in expertise. For example, oil companies often enter into joint ventures on particularly expensive projects carrying a high risk of failure. See also consortium.

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joint venture

A legal entity somewhat similar to a partnership,except that its purpose is the pursuit of a single transaction for the mutual benefit of both joint venturers. Each joint venturer has equal rights of direction and control. For tax purposes, the joint venture is treated as a partnership and must file a partnership tax return.

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Joint Venture

An enterprise participated in by associates acting together, with a community of interests, each associate having the right to participate in its management. For income tax purposes, a joint venture is treated as a partnership, not taxable in its own capacity, but regarded as a taxpayer for the purpose of computing its taxable income, which is distributable among the associates in the proportions agreed upon. Such distributive shares are reported by the associates on their individual income tax returns.