Sallie Mae sale appears unlikely

WASHINGTON -- Sallie Mae's stock price sank more than 10 percent Wednesday after the student lender cut its 2008 profit forecast and said it failed to revive interest from an investor group that once offered to buy it for $25 billion.

The company's weakening financial outlook could bolster the investor group's legal argument that it should not have to pay a $900 million fee for walking away from the deal because of significant changes in economic or regulatory conditions affecting SLM Corp., Sallie's formal name.

Reston, Va.-based Sallie, the nation's largest student lender, trimmed its forecast for 2008 "core" earnings from $3.25 a share to a per-share range of $2.60 to $2.80.