Joint Ventures and Strategic Alliances

Joint ventures and strategic alliances between companies are a classic example of a multiple player problem. When the way forward requires agreement by several partners, it is necessary to look at the situation from each partner’s perspective to determine how they can act and what they want. Often, different players are driven by different factors such as schedule, cash constraints, risk tolerance, or a desire to use their own preferred subcontractors. These different motivations manifest themselves as different priorities and, once properly understood, often reveal win-win trade-offs or powerful promises.

Open Options has advised clients in many different industries and in many different types of joint ventures. For example, we have experience with joint operating agreements in the natural resource sector, intellectual property sharing agreements in the technology sector and long term supply agreements in the manufacturing sector.

Below is a selected list of some of our success stories, in helping our clients manage their joint venture and strategic alliances. Please contact us to learn more about our process and review a relevant case study.

• Joint Venture Partner Alignment –"Briar Patch” Show more

  A major oil and gas company wanted to develop a new multi-billion dollar greenfield site and it was not clear whether to seek a co-operative project with JV partners or to proceed stand-alone. Complicating matters further was internal disagreement within the company’s leadership on what should be done.

• Partnering Alternatives – “Formulary for Success” Show more

  To manage escalating health benefit costs, a government had legislated changes that were expected to result in a massive shift in cash flows and behavior between employers, private insurers, pharmacies, branded pharmaceutical companies and others.  The client approached Open Options to create a proactive strategy to prepare for the coming changes and to explore possible partnering alternatives.

• Strategic Alliances – “Renewing the Vows” Show more

  A joint venture, involving technology licensing and revenue sharing contracts, was coming up for renewal between an American company and a foreign competitor. Relationships were strained and the foreign competitor was aggressively pursuing control while the JV wanted greater autonomy.

• Joint Venture Partner Alignment – “Good Cop/Bad Cop” Show more

  An oil and gas company was trying to advance a JV project toward development but was concerned that the local government would make unreasonable demands, thereby rendering the project uneconomic. The Client wanted to determine its most effective strategy to secure favorable terms and a commitment to the project from its JV partner.

Open Options has experience in the following aspects of joint ventures and strategic alliances:

• Partnerships
• Product supply alliances
• IP licensing alliances
• Production sharing agreements
• Infrastructure sharing
• Marketing alliances
• Joint ventures
• Joint operating agreements