Sallie Mae may be in buyout talks

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Sallie Mae, the largest U.S. student loan company, might be in talks for a private equity buyout worth more than $20 billion.

One potential bidder for Sallie Mae (Charts) is the Blackstone Group (Charts), according to a New York Times report Friday. Other potential bidders were not named but are thought to include a financial services firm.

The deal for Sallie Mae, which has a market value of $16.7 billion, would be well in the range of other recent buyouts, but the company is still an unusual target for private equity, the Times report says.

The talks come just days after Sallie Mae reached a $2 million settlement with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office after an investigation into its business practices.

Investigations of a number of student loan companies found that some lenders offered payments and perks to college officials to gain a place on their preferred lender lists.

A Sallie Mae spokesman declined to comment, citing a policy against speaking about market rumors.

-- Reuters contributed to this report

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