The most important companies in Dutch company law are
B.V. (private limited liability company)
N.V. (public limited liability company); and
Cooperatief (cooperative, which can also be incorporated as a limited liability company)
C.V. (limited partnership)
The most common legal form in the Netherlands is the BV. A BV in the Netherlands can be compared with a UK limited or US LLC. The Dutch NV is in general only chosen when it is the intention to list the legal entity on a stock exchange. This is because the NV can issue bearer shares, whereas the BV cannot. The Dutch Cooperative is chosen as legal form in stead of a BV because of its legal flexibility and to avoid withholding tax on dividends. The CV is sometimes used when there are both managing and investing partners.
