Washington – A group of investors announced plans Monday to buy Sallie Mae, taking the nation’s largest student lender private in a $25 billion deal that comes as some regulators call for tougher standards and lower federal subsidies for the $85 billion college-loan industry.
Private-equity firm J.C. Flowers & Co. and three other investors will pay $60 per share for Reston, Va.-based SLM Corp., commonly referred to as Sallie Mae. The sale price represents a nearly 50 percent premium for Sallie Mae’s previously sagging stock before takeover rumors emerged last week.
SLM shares traded up more than 17 percent on the New York Stock Exchange after the buyout was announced Monday.
J.C. Flowers and private-equity firm Friedman Fleischer & Lowe will invest $4.4 billion and own 50.2 percent of the company. Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase each will invest $2.2 billion, and each will own 24.9 percent.
