Mapping Goldman’s and Blackstone’s Relationships

Here is an interesting Knowledge Map that shows how inter-connected Goldman Sachs and Blackstone executives truly are.  An even more interesting observation, however, is that most of the common connections between these two entities are former connections.

http://nv.intellectspace.com/ispace/GuestMonitor.aspx?id=ae0e7e8a-cc79-47d7-a7ff-405d93421602

(INTERACTIVE VERSION)

Goldman and Blackstone have even less common board positions, as the following Knowledge Map suggest:

http://nv.intellectspace.com/ispace/GuestMonitor.aspx?id=b13ff193-556b-438a-9c30-ba86ac9f6675(INTERACTIVE VERSION)

KKR/TPG Likely to Secure TXU Deal

After examining potential bidders’ relationships with TXU, it becomes clear that TXU has much stronger relationships with KKR than any of the PE/bank consortiums bidding on the company, including Blackstone and The Carlyle Group.  The strongest relationship that exists between TXU and one of its bidders is between TXU senior advisor Lawrence Fouraker and KKR senior partner Henry Kravis – who shared board seats at Gillette.

For example, three current TXU Board Members and TXU's senior advisor have material connections with three senior KKR professionals, including a relationship between Kravis (senior KKR partner) and Fouraker (senior TXU advisor) – who used to share board seats at Gillette (now owned by Procter & Gamble).

To take a closer look at the relationships that are likely being levered to consummate this deal, below are a few interactive Knowledge Maps that were automatically generated by IntellectSpace. Please use the Internet Explorer browser to properly view the Knowledge Maps:

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co - TXU Knowledge Map: http://nv.intellectspace.com/ispace/GuestMonitor.aspx?id=7813416e-6678-48de-8ff3-3753200492d3

Texas Pacific Group - TXU Knowledge Map: http://nv.intellectspace.com/ispace/GuestMonitor.aspx?id=ef747788-fb9c-4066-85d1-64ad89a57c66

Blackstone - TXU Knowledge Map: http://nv.intellectspace.com/ispace/GuestMonitor.aspx?id=fa17008a-c000-40cd-8171-7448b538cd2f 

The Carlyle Group - TXU Knowledge Map: http://nv.intellectspace.com/ispace/GuestMonitor.aspx?id=0a4cff20-f4d1-4541-992e-2963abe1870b

CVS/Caremark Discussions Led by Leadership

At the helm of the CVS and Caremark discussions were the Chairmen of these two companies.  Caremark Chairman and CEO Edwin Crawford and CVS Chairman and CEO Terrence Murray have both sat on the Board of Directors of FleetBoston for a number of years, along with Murray’s fellow CVS Board Member Marian Heard.  While these were likely to be the primary 3 people involved in these discussions, there are also many other people who could have helped to influence the outcome of the deal.  Below is the Knowledge Map depicting the key relationships between the two entities:

http://nv.intellectspace.com/ispace/GuestMonitor.aspx?id=7112985c-1f5a-4a58-be0b-1b356d8fa58a

Knowledge Maps are automatically generated by IntellectSpace’s Knowledge Mapping technologies.

Cisco - WebEx Acquisition was Management Influenced, Board Approved

Board members of Cisco have weak connections to the board members of Web-Ex, although synergies do exist.  However, the executives of these companies are strongly connected to one another.  IntellectSpace's auto-generated Knowledge Map didn't reveal many significant common relationships between board members of Cisco and Web-Ex (see below), but it uncovered significant overlapping relationships among their executives.  One possible explanation for why this merger came to fruition was because the executives of both firms found compelling rationale for the merger, and sought approval from their respective boards.

Following Knowledge Map shows that there are almost no common board connections:

To view an interactive vesion, follow the URL below (Only with Internet Explorers supported):

http://nv.intellectspace.com/ispace/GuestMonitor.aspx?id=0affc54a-85c1-4daa-8e6d-bc203db7659f

The bottom line is that these two organizations will have inherently strong management synergies that will allow these teams to merge well, creating greater value for shareholders.

The following IntellectSpace Knowledge Map shows common executive synergies between Cisco and WebEx.

 

To view an interactive version of this Knowledge Map, follow this URL: http://nv.intellectspace.com/ispace/GuestMonitor.aspx?id=a1b8bb46-5a6a-467a-a154-fab975175323 

UnitedHealthcare's acquisition of Sierra Health is relationship-based

UnitedHealthcare's acquisition of Sierra Health Services will deepen the joint company, because much of their leadership shares common roots.  The teams that stand behind each of these two companies are well connected with one another, not just in the healthcare industry, but in other endeavors as well - such as investments, previous government posts, education, wireless, accounting, etc. 

Such synergies are clearly presented by IntellectSpace's automatically generated Knowledge Map that found common connections between UnitedHealthcare and Sierra. To view an interactive version of the Knowledge Map, please follow the following link (viewable only by PC-based Internet Explorers):

http://nv.intellectspace.com/ispace/GuestMonitor.aspx?id=631fb90b-1f75-4238-ba1a-b72126219d3d

KKR Leverages Former Relationships to Acquire Dollar General

KKR Leverages Former Relationships to Acquire Dollar General

Kohlberg Kravits Roberts & Co (KKR) is using its relationships from former successful deals to drive its current deal-flow.  The most recent example of this is the acquisition of Dollar General.  An IntellectSpace analysis of common connections between KKR and Dollar General reveals that the two firms are quite connected.  The primary relationships between them are via Safeway, Kraft, Beatrice Co, Bruno Inc, and several universities.

Taking a closer look at the two firms’ common connections, it is likely that the acquisition discussions were spurred and led by those relationships involving Bruno’s Inc.  Relationships involving this company include:

- James Hagan was the CFO of Dollar General for many years, and was the CFO of Bruno’s Inc prior to his position at Dollar General

- Kravis, Roberts, & Raether all served on the board of Bruno’s while Hagan was the CFO

However, Dollar General’s former President and COO, Lawrence Jackson, may have also played a key role.  Jackson spent much of his career at Safeway, where 5 KKR professionals assumed board seats – among those 5 professionals were Kravis and Roberts.  Both Kravis and Roberts assuredly had relationships with both Hagan and Jackson, so the high-level discussions likely involved these 4 individuals.

Lastly, Lawrence Jackson attended Harvard Business School, along with at least 4 KKR professionals.  Since HBS students are typically strong networkers, it is very possible that HBS alumni played a role in facilitating this deal.

To view an interactive version of the IntellectSpace Knowledge Map, please use a PC-based Internet Explorer to view the following URL: http://nv.intellectspace.com/ispace/GuestMonitor.aspx?id=e9dcb68f-a0e1-421f-85f7-f7534c7483f2

In Bain - Clear Channel Deal, Relationships are Key

To view an interactive version of IntellectSpace Knowledge Map, please visit the following URL: (PC-based Internet Explorers only please):

http://nv.intellectspace.com/ispace/GuestMonitor.aspx?id=3070f31d-468c-47f3-89f2-a52079fdf6bf

Bain Capital and Clear Channel have deep synergies which probably make it easy to communicate.  As IntellectSpace’s Knowledge Map shows, Clear Channel’s Mays family appear to have a tight grip on the company, and is connected to Harvard Business School, Goldman Sachs, Muzak LLC , and XM Satellite Radio.  Bain has a large number of professionals who graduated from HBS, and some loose ties with GS, Muzak, and XM Satellite Radio.  More than likely, the key relationships that drove this deal were former fellow HBS classmates.

XM - Sirius Ties Run Deep

Common relationships of XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio run very deep.  It can be assumed, therefore, that these organizations are both vying to merge, and anticipate a very synergistic relationship on board and executive levels. 

Specifically, over 30 individuals of XM's and Sirius's board members and executives have intersected paths with each other in the past.  To demonstrate the level of inter-connectivity between these two organizations, please view the following IntellectSpace Knowledge Map.

To view an interactive version of the Knowledge Map, please use a PC-Based Internet Explorer to navigate to the following URL: http://nv.intellectspace.com/ispace/GuestMonitor.aspx?id=cf41d9ab-2b55-4aa9-a942-ef73d6cbbbd6

BofA's Reach in Corporate Boards

The following IntellectSpace Knowledge Map shows how connected Bank of America's board truly is.  The IntellectSpace Knowledge Map was instructed to show all boards that Bank of America's board members sit on.  You can also see how four of the Lowe's board members share a seat on BofA's board, and two individuals sit on Sonoco's board. 

To view an interactive version of this IntellectSpace Knowledge Map, please follow the URL below: (Only PC-Based Internet Explorer viewers, please)

http://nv.intellectspace.com/ispace/GuestMonitor.aspx?id=c1f78851-aefc-4dad-a6dc-f2f06818adef

TPG - KKR Common Connections

Combined  efforts of Texas Pacific Group (TPG) and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) to pull off a historic acquisition of TXU was made possible by deep relationships that these private equity firms have with one another.  The following IntellectSpace Knowledge Map shows how the leadership teams of TPG and KKR are very well connected, and at numerous times intersected in universities, non-profits, and corporate boards. 

In order to view the interactive version of this IntellectSpace Knowledge Map, where you can hover over the colored lines to understand underlying details and the supporting sources, please visit the URL below: (Only PC-based Internet Explorer viewers only):

http://nv.intellectspace.com/ispace/GuestMonitor.aspx?id=dd1f3788-2d75-4f09-b8d6-e765923a5a36

MSFT – YHOO Deal Makes Sense Because Insiders Get Along

Microsoft and Yahoo have numerous common roots among the company’s board members and executives.  The importance of common relationships between board members has been noted historically because most successfully negotiated mergers involve board members who have had past relationships with one another.

In Microsoft/Yahoo case, Orlando Ayala Lozano shares a board seat with Mr. Kern, who sits on the board of Yahoo. But, probably the most important relationship is between Charles H Noski and Roy Bostock, which possibly led the way for these discussions.  Microsoft board member Charles H Noski and Yahoo board member Roy Bostock both sit on the board of Morgan Stanley – so most likely Morgan Stanley will play a role on this deal, were a deal to transpire.

If the merger takes place, executives from both firms have vast common connections, thus increasing the probability that these two firms will reach a common ground early into the merger, and personality friction should be minimal. Interactive URL (PC Internet Explorers Only): http://nv.intellectspace.com/ispace/GuestMonitor.aspx?id=3f3839f9-cb72-44a9-b1b3-c33a07d434fa

 

Examples of executive synergies between the two firms include the following engagements that Microsoft’s executives have in common with engagements of Yahoo’s executives:

• Harvard Business School (10 common relationships)
• Stanford Business School (15 common relationships)
• UC Berkeley (4 common relationships)
• HP (3 common relationships)
• Sprint (2 common relationships)
• Global Crossing (2 common relationships)
• Softbank (3 common relationships)
• Ask Jeeves (3 common relationships)

Interactive IntellectSpace Knowledge Map (PC Internet Explorers only): http://nv.intellectspace.com/ispace/GuestMonitor.aspx?id=5359e084-439e-4a9a-acb8-e4e94a501895

Oracle’s Hyperion Acquisition Piggy-backs on PeopleSoft

Oracle’s most recent acquisition of Hyperion likely involved the same individuals who helped to facilitate the PeopleSoft acquisition.  This is visible in IntellectSpace’s Knowledge Map that graphically depicts the common relationships between Oracle and Hyperion.   

Common connections of Oracle to Hyperion include:

* Heidi M Melin, Nanci Caldwell, and Robin L Washington, who assumed senior leadership positions with PeopleSoft are also engaged with Hyperion.  For example, Robin Washington who was a Senior VP of PeopleSoft later became the CFO of Hyperion in 2006.  Nancy Caldwell (EVP PeopleSoft), has served on Hyperion’s board since 2006. 

* Oracle’s senior executive, Craig Ramsey, is likely connected with John Dillon and Maynard G Webb Jr, through SalesForce, both of whom are influencers in Hyperion. 

* Another of Oracle’s senior executives, David J Roux is also connected to Maynard G Webb Jr through Gartner – they’ve both held board seats at Gartner.

An interactive version of this IntellectSpace Knowledge Map (PC-based Internet Explorers only), provides an ability to “hover” over relationship lines to learn about the details, and “drill-down” into each relationship to see the supporting sources by simply double-clicking on elements on the screen.  

The URL below links to the interactive version of the IntellectSpace Knowledge Map:
http://nv.intellectspace.com/ispace/GuestMonitor.aspx?id=8919c329-0882-4445-b0bd-adb3819d65d7