Assume the known covariance matrix is positive definite. The Gaussian likelihood, up to constants, is
Its gradient is . The negative Hessian matrix is positive definite because has full column rank. Thus the unique maximum-likelihood estimator is the generalized least squares estimator
It is unbiased, and multiplication of its linear coefficient matrix by gives
In fact . Equivalently, a whitening transformation premultiplies and by , after which ordinary least squares applies. There is no extra factor when is the complete known covariance; such a factor appears if only a shape matrix is known and .