Let A and C be m × m matrices and let B and D be n × n matrices, all with elements in a field F. Let AT denote the transpose of A. A well-known theorem states that, if every m × m matrix X for which AX = XA also satisfies CX = XC, then C = φ(A) for some polynomial φ(λ). In this note we establish the following simple generalizations.

Theorem 1. Let A and B have the same minimal polynomial m(λ). If each m × n matrix X over F for which AX = XB also satisfies CX = XD, then C = φ(A) and D = φ(B) for a polynomial φ(λ) over F.