When a joint venture is terminated, it also results in a transfer of assets to the partners, which can sometimes lead to transfer taxes and VAT liabilities. None of these apply specifically to joint ventures. Financing is generally made available to the joint venture by shareholders through debt securities (shareholder loans) or equity (shares or other) – or, more often, by a combination of the two. Tax considerations are often essential to defining the capital structure of the joint venture. Borrowing financing can also be obtained from external sources; Although shareholders are often required of lenders, especially in the context of a joint start-up venture. Under French accounting law, a company is required to establish consolidated accounts if it has “exclusive control,” “common control” or “significant influence” on a business (i.e. a joint venture). Depending on these control situations, the accounts are consolidated using three different consolidation methods. In most corporate joint ventures, minority shareholders enjoy a wide range of information rights. For example, information is provided by management prior to each general meeting.
Minority shareholders may also require directors to answer any questions or requests they have during general meetings. In France, there are two types of joint venture structures: contractual joint ventures, which must comply with the general rules of French contract law; and joint ventures, which are by far the most common. Joint ventures can adopt any form of existing business, although some are more common than others. Commercial enterprises are often used for joint ventures when tax transparency is not required. In the event of a violation or non-compliance with the joint enterprise agreement, the parties to the joint venture may be mutually responsible on the basis of the French general civil liability regime. Under French law and in the absence of a specific deadlock scheme included in the joint venture agreement, the majority shareholder could invoke the unauthorized use of minority powers. The unauthorized use of minority powers implies that one or more minority shareholders prevented the adoption of a decision requiring a majority determined either by a hostile vote or by abstention. In French law, there is no specific legal concept of a joint venture.
As far as joint ventures are concerned, there are no problems, since the parties are bound only by the joint enterprise agreement itself.