Warren Buffett’s Company Could Be Close to Acquiring American Express, Reports Speculate

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace) -- With the media rumor-mill suggesting Warren E Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE:BRK) and the American Express Co (NYSE:AXP) are in merger talks, it seems likely that a deal could be struck anytime soon, especially since there exist a series of personal connections between the two companies’ Directors.

"'American Express may be considering eventually to become a private enterprise and become delisted, or become part of Warren Buffett’s empire,' Philip Berman of Berman Asset Management said during the meeting, according to Bloomberg," The New York Times reported in an online article on Wednesday.

Already established friendships could drive the deal.

NewsVisual created an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map that illustrates the personal connections between the two companies Board of Directors.

The Knowledge Map shows that there exist three different sets of personal connections between the two board rooms.

The most notable set is between Amex Director Charlene Barshefsky and Berkshire Directors Susan L Decker and Reed E Hundt via their board-room service to Intel Corp.

Amex Director Richard C Levin is tied to Berkshire Directors Hundt and Ronald Olsen through the Yale School of Management and Oxford University, respectively.

In a similar fashion, Amex Director Barshefsky and Amex CEO/Chairman Kenneth I Chenault are linked to Mr Olsen through the Council on Foreign Relations.   And Mr Chenault is also tied to Berkshire Director Thomas Murphy through New York University.

This network of personal connections between the two board rooms certainly elevates the potential for a buyout deal.

To view the details of those connections, click here for an interactive and fuller version of this IntellectSpace Knowledge Map.

(Note: the information contained and presented in Knowledge Maps is public information from the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States of America).