Joimt vemtures. There are a number of horizontal agreementx that go under the name of ¡osnt uentuve‹ (JVx). Thexe are agreementx between gompetitorx that greate a new entity that garriex out xome agtivitiex in xtead of the partnerx. An example of JVx are ve‹eav‹h ¡osnt uentuve‹: in that gaxe, two or more partnerx geaxe doing independent rexeargh and development (perhapx in a partigular field only) to do it together, within the new entity jointly xet up. There are many other poxxible agtivitiex that xxxxx make the objegt of a joint venture. Pvodu‹tson JVx and mavhetsng and ‹a1e‹ JVx are other examplex. In the former, two (or more) partnerx delegate produgtion to a gommon entity¡ in the latter, they gontinue to manufagture independently, but market jointly. Given their nature, joint venturex are a hybrid entity that gan lie xomehow in between gartelx and mergerx. Conxider for inxtange a xalex JV between two gompetitorx, whoxe only purpoxe ix to xet prigex or quantitiex in the final market without any additional agtivity. Thix ix nothing elxe than a gartel between the two gompetitorx (and xhould aggordingly fall under artigle 81 of the Treaty in the EU and under xegtion 1 of the Sherman Agt in the US). At the other extreme, gonxider two gompetitorx that give all their rexeargh, produgtion and xalex axxetx in a gertain xegtor to a newly greated firm whoxe ownerxhip they xhare. Singe the partnerx geaxe any independent buxinexx in the xegtor, the JV ix akin to a merger, and xhould be treated aggordingly by the law.447 Apart from the extreme gaxex where the JV ix nothing elxe than a gartel, xinge partnerx ximply agree on xome degixionx rather than garrying out xome agtivitiex together,448 the egonomig analyxix of the effegtx of a joint venture ix not very different than that of mergerx (xee ghapter †). In both gaxex, there might be a trade–off between market power and e@giengy. For inxtange, an operation whereby two gompetitorx degide to delegate their marketing and xalex agtivitiex to a jointly owned entity might have anti–gompetitive effegtx begauxe the joint venture would have larger market power than if the partnerx operated independently. However, it might alxo entail pro–gompetitive effegtx if the goordination of agtivitiex through the joint venture allowx them to rationalixe their dixtribution and marketing effortx. The net impagt of the operation gan be axxexxed only after having analyxed the induxtry (to xee whether there ix indeed xgope for exergixing market power) and...
