Joint Ventures

Proper structuring of a joint venture at its initial stages, knowing the market and crafting an operating agreement that addresses our client's needs are crucial to its operational success. Each joint venture deal must be strategically tailored and coordinated to all parties' particular businesses and circumstances.

Preventing Pitfalls Thoroughly and Efficiently

With decades of experience in the field, Holland & Knight's lawyers have the skill sets and judgment to provide guidance in overcoming issues that can cause deals to fail. This is especially important during the formation and structure of the joint venture, which incorporates key issues such as raising capital, choice of entity and jurisdiction, management structures and changes in management, capital call protocols, remedies for capital defaults and cost overruns, distribution waterfalls, preferred returns, internal rate of return (IRR) structures, provisions governing the transfer of ownership interests, dissolution and buy-sell provisions, and other dispute resolution and exit strategies.

Collaboration That Covers All Aspects

Holland & Knight's Joint Venture Group advises clients across multiple practice areas. Our team members have a vast array of interdisciplinary skills and work with other Holland & Knight lawyers in complementary practices and industry teams whose skill sets are critical in the successful structuring and implementation of a joint venture, including in the areas of:

• construction
• corporate, partnerships and limited liability company entities
• energy
• financial services
• healthcare and life sciences
• intellectual property
• labor and employment
• employee benefits and executive compensation
• manufacturing
• mergers and acquisitions
• private equity
• public companies, private placements and securities
• real estate, hospitality and leisure
• regulatory and government affairs
• taxation
• technology and telecommunications
• wealth planning and preservation

When it comes to forming and advising investment funds or investors in capital market transactions, we understand how vital it is to have lawyers who understand finance, securities and investment advisor regulations and who are adept at configuring investment structures. We have a deep roster of attorneys who know the market and are well equipped to handle deal documentation, due diligence, closings and post-closing issues in a manner that reduces liability and risk while optimizing value and performance.

Select Representative Experience

• Representation of a Fortune 100 national homebuilder in the formation of an equity fund/joint venture sponsored and managed by its affiliate with global sovereign and institutional investors, with aggregate equity commitments of $2.2 billion to develop and own Class A multifamily communities in 25 target markets throughout the U.S.
• Representation of a NYSE-listed public company in multiple joint ventures and related financing transactions valued in the billions of dollars in connection with the restructuring and redeveloping of Candlestick Park and neighboring Hunters Point in San Francisco
• Representation of an international multimedia company in its joint venture with NBCUniversal for radio and television programming throughout Latin America
• Representation of a major British airline in securing regulatory approvals for its joint venture with Delta Air Lines, which included Delta buying a 49 percent stake in the British airline for $360 million
• Representation of a U.S.-based global manufacturing services company in its sale of Sealaska's ownership in three joint ventures with Nypro Inc., which collectively were known as Nypro Kánaak, in a deal involving manufacturing facilities in Alabama, Iowa and Guadalajara, Mexico, that create precision plastic products for use in the healthcare, packaging and consumer electronics industries
• Representation of a leading provider of professional services automation software for the IT services industry in connection with its joint venture with a company that designs and develops technology solutions for small businesses
• Representation of a leader in the development and production of mechanical and electronic products and controls in multiple joint venture transactions
• Representation of a multinational company headquartered in Canada and engaged in the manufacture and sale of commercial paper products in its joint venture with another multinational paper manufacturer and seller
• Representation of an oil and gas exploration, development and production company in a joint venture with two Turkish oil companies, TP Afghanistan and Calik Enerji Sanayi Ticaret A.S., to develop a large gas concession in Afghanistan and build combustion turbine power generators to monetize the product and export power to countries to the north
• Representation of the world's largest automobile finance company as lead joint venture counsel in the negotiation and establishment of an international joint venture focused on monetizing developing automotive technologies and related telematics data
• Representation of a joint venture entity in the financing of a laboratory building that was the end product of the joint venture development