Successful Acquisitions

Joint Venture

The next step up from a marketing alliance is the joint venture (JV), which demands a higher level of commitment from the parties involved. Classically, a JV means the construction of a new entity in which each partner normally has equal ownership. It creates a much higher stake in the outcomes than a marketing alliance, while avoiding the complex issues of buying your partner’s company. There are situations where a JV can have significant advantages over a purchase, not only in terms of hard financials but also with respect to the psychology of the partnership.

My firm has a client in the construction industry who needed to grow externally to fill a gap in her technology portfolio. Theoretically, she could have purchased the target ...