Company: BBU
Filing Date: 2025-04-10
Form Type: 20-F
Source: 0001628280-25-017216
Chunk: 17

Company: Brookfield Business Partners L.P.
Filing Date: 2025-04-10
Form: 20-F
Item: Item 3
Chunk 17
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 structured preferred equity or debt investments (“structured investments”) in businesses that Brookfield considers attractive but which have certain downside risks, usually because the applicable business, asset class or technology is at an early stage of development. Examples of structured investments in our portfolio include our convertible preferred investments in Nielsen. While these structured investments provide a secure, downside protected entry point into new assets classes and businesses, they do not give operational control to Brookfield or to our partnership.

  20      Brookfield Business Partners  

Joint ventures, partnerships, consortiums and structured investments generally provide for a reduced level of control over an acquired company because governance rights are shared with others. Accordingly, decisions relating to the underlying operations, including decisions relating to the management and operation and the timing and nature of any exit, are often made by a majority vote of the investors or by separate agreements that are reached with respect to individual decisions or, in the case of a structured investment, by agreement with the target’s management team. For example, when we participate with institutional partners in Brookfield-sponsored or co-sponsored consortiums for asset acquisitions and as a partner in or alongside Brookfield-sponsored or co-sponsored partnerships, there is often a finite term to the investment, which could lead to the business being sold prior to the date we would otherwise choose. In addition, such operations may be subject to the risk that business, financial or management decisions are made with which we do not agree or the management of the operating business at issue may take risks or otherwise act in a manner that does not serve our interests. Because we may not have the ability to exercise sole control over such operations, we may not be able to realize some or all of the benefits that we believe will be created from our and Brookfield’s involvement. If any of the foregoing were to occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations could suffer as a result.

In addition, because some of our current operations are structured as joint ventures, partnerships or consortium arrangements, the sale or transfer of interests in some of our operations are subject to rights of first refusal or first offer, tag along rights or drag along rights and some agreements provide for buy-sell or similar arrangements, any of which could be exercised outside of our control and accordingly could have an adverse impact on us.

We rely on the use of technology and information systems, many of which are controlled by third-party vendors, which may not be able to accommodate our growth or may increase in cost and may become subject to cyber-terrorism or other compromises and shut-downs, and any failures or interruptions