Besloten Vennootschap

_nl. "Besloten Vennootschap" (usually abbreviated B.V.) is the Dutch terminology for a private limited liability company. The company is owned by shareholders, and the company's shares are privately registered and not freely transferable. The phrase literally means "secluded partnership" and it is the most common form of enterprise in the Netherlands.

A BV may be created by one or more individuals or legal entities, Dutch or foreign, with a minimum paid in capital of €18,000. After a statement of no objection is obtained from the Ministry of Justice, a deed of incorporation is executed and filed. It must be in Dutch and contain details of the Incorporators and the initial Members of the Board, their amounts of participation and payments of initial capital. The deed also contains the Articles of Association, consisting of at least the company name which must begin or end with "B.V.", the city where the company has its registered seat, the purpose of the company, the authorized capital in Euro and its division in shares, as well as the conditions for share transfer. The authorized capital is the maximum capital that may subsequently be issued without altering the Articles of Association; it may be up to a maximum of five times the initial capital.

Contrast with the publicly traded form: _nl. "Naamloze Vennootschap".

ee also

*Types of companies
*Types of corporations
*Ltd. (the corresponding concept in the UK and in Ireland)
*Pty Ltd (the corresponding concept in Australia)
*SARL (the corresponding concept in France and Switzerland)
*GmbH (the corresponding concept in Germany and Austria)
*Anpartsselskab (the corresponding concept in Denmark)
*Aktiebolag (the corresponding concept in Sweden)
*ZAT-zakryte aktsyonerne tovarystvo (the corresponding concept in Ukraine)