Sallie Mae Eyes Hostile Bid ForPennsylvania Agency

RESTON, Va. - (01/18/05) -- Student loan giant Sallie Mae saidit will not accept the Pennsylvania Higher Education AssistanceAgency's rejection of its takeover bid and will take the $1 billionoffer directly to state lawmakers who control the student loanagency. Alfred Lord, president and CEO of Sallie Mae, said he wantsto meet with legislative leaders and other lawmakers to discuss thedetails of the proposed buyout, which the board of the state-runstudent lender rejected last month. Lord is scheduled to meetTuesday with Senate Republican leaders and is seeking to meet withSenate Democratic leaders and House leaders in both parties, aswell. Sallie Mae is the biggest student loan agency in the countrywith more than $100 billion in loans under management. The PHEAAhas more than $45 billion of loans under management and serves 170credit unions in Pennsylvania.