Student loan firm Sallie Mae in talks to go private - paper

Sallie Mae in talks to go private: report

Fri Apr 13, 2:39 AM ET

Sallie Mae (NYSE:SLM - news), the largest U.S. student loan company, is in talks to be bought out by private equity in a deal that could top $20 billion, the New York Times reported on its Web site on Friday.

Negotiations appear to be at a late stage, but many hurdles remain and it was unclear that a deal would be reached, the Times said, citing unnamed sources.

The Blackstone Group is one potential bidder, the Times said.

Sallie Mae and Blackstone could not immediately be reached for comment.

Sallie Mae recently agreed to pay $2 million to settle an investigation into financial arrangements it was accused of making with U.S. colleges and universities and change some of its business practices.