The two most common types of legal entities adopted in Brazil are the limited liability company (“Limitada” or “Ltda.”) and the corporation (“S.A.”). These are the most attractive types of companies since they are the only types of companies in which you may find, at the same time, all the following advantages: (i) the liability of the equity holders is generally limited to their equity interest (subject to certain specificities described below); (ii) they can be used for any type of business (i.e., services, industry, commerce); and (ii) they do not haveminimum capital requirements (sometimes they do, but by reason of the activities conducted, not by reason of their corporate type).

In 2011, a new type of entity, called Eireli (“Empresa Individual de Responsabilidade Limitada”, or Limited Liability Individual Entity) was introduced in Brazil. The Eireli works similarly to a Limitada, but its equity interest is held by a single partner, individual or legal entity (Brazilian or foreign), provided that (i) in case the partner of the Eireli is an individual, he/she may not be a partner of any other Eireli, and (ii) the capital stock of the Eireli must be equivalent to at last one hundred times the minimum wage in Brazil - which currently amounts to BRL 954.00 (approximately USD 230)...