Did High-Level Personal Connections Help Drive the Merger Deal Between HP and EDS?

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace) -- The Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HPQ) announced on Tuesday that it was acquiring the Electronic Data Systems Corp. (NYSE:EDS) for approximately $13.9 billion or for the price of $25 per share, according to an HP press release.

The Boards of Directors of both HP and EDS have given their approval of the deal, HP reported.

EDS CEO/President/Chairman Ronald A. Rittenmeyer will continue to lead EDS after the deal closes, and Rittenmeyer will report to HP CEO/Chairman Mark Hurd.

"The combination of HP and EDS will create a leading force in global IT services," said Mr. Hurd.

"Together, we will be a stronger business partner, delivering customers the broadest, most competitive portfolio of products and services in the industry. This reinforces our commitment to help customers manage and transform their technology to achieve better results," Mr. Hurd added to explain the rationale for the merger.

Although Mr. Rittenmeyer said that this transaction will be highly beneficial to stockholders, he went on to emphasize that the new joint company will have certain competitive advantages in the marketplace:

"It's also beneficial to our customers, as the combination of our two global companies and the collective skills of our employees will drive innovation and enhance value for them in a wide range of industries," Rittenmeyer said.

The merger is likely to experience smooth sailing because these two companies already have numerous personal connections between their top leadership teams.

NewsVisual created an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map in order to illustrate those connections.
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(Note: the information contained and presented in Knowledge Maps is public information from the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States of America).