Greenfield investment means building new facilities from the ground up in a foreign country. Acquisition means purchasing an existing foreign firm. Greenfield gives maximum design control but takes longer; acquisition provides instant market entry but carries integration risks.
Greenfield Investment vs Acquisition When a firm enters a foreign market through foreign direct investment with 100% ownership (a wholly owned subsidiary ), it has two options: build from scratch or buy something that already exists. These are greenfield investment and acquisition, and they represent fundamentally different approaches to market entry. Key Takeaways Greenfield = build new. Acquisition = buy existing. Greenfield offers maximum control and no legacy issues but is slower and riskier