Deal Between Carlyle and Goodyear Aided by Common Connections

Early today, The Carlyle Group completed its acquisition of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.’s engineered products division (See article at Reuters). After taking a close look at the IntellectSpace Knowledge Map we generated of the common connections between Carlyle and Goodyear, we found that the relationships between certain key people at these two companies may have fueled this transaction.

While numerous ties are present, the most noteworthy connection is shared between William E. Conway Jr. (a founding partner of Carlyle) and Gary D. Forsee (who was a director of Goodyear until April 2007). The two know each other through Sprint, where Forsee is the Chairman and CEO and Conway was a Co-Lead Director.  William E. Kennard (a managing director at Carlyle) would also know Forsee through Sprint, having served as a board member of Sprint until March 2007.

Although this deal has just come to fruition, it was first announced this past March, before Forsee had left Goodyear, so it’s reasonable to believe that these relationships helped to spur this transaction.

Click here for an interactive version of this IntellectSpace Knowledge Map (Internet Explorer browsers only): http://nv.intellectspace.com/ispace/GuestMonitor.aspx?id=8fa7199d-cf6f-4df5-8a00-698592e2d227