A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Most joint ventures are incorporated, although some, as in the oil and gas industry, are "unincorporated" joint ventures that mimic a corporate entity. Key elements of a joint venture's design include: 1) the number of parties; 2) the geographic, product, technology and value-chain scope within which the JV will operate; 3) the contributions of the parties; 4) the structural form (each country has specific options, e.g. in the U.S. the main options are a C Corporation or an LLC/partnership structure); 5) the valuation of initial contributions and ownership split among the parties; 6) the economic arrangements, post-deal (e.g