Sallie Mae (SLM Corp.) submitted a request to the Delawarecourt Friday, asking it for an expedited trial for a lawsuit the student-lenderhad previously filed against a group of buyers, David Enrich of the Wall StreetJournal (subscription required) reported today.
The suit, filed against the J.C. Flowers &Co.-led group, is asking the buyers to complete the $25 billion deal, or pay $900 millionfor breaking the agreement. After SallieMae’s request Friday, the group is arguing that business conditions in theindustry have withered since the deal was formulated last spring. As a result, the group said it has the rightto void or renegotiate the agreement.
In its requestfor an edepited trial, Sallie Mae said the deal essentiallygave control over the company’s day-to-day operations to the buyers group, andthe company’s executives have said their limited decision making and input hasmade the business harder to run, as a result.
According to the Journal, J.C. Flowers is planning to file alawsuit in
While the case may take months to get gong, either companycan walk away from the deal if it isn’t completed by February 15.