Sallie Mae to acquire Upromise

The Boston Globe reports:

Upromise, which helps families save for college while making everyday purchases at restaurants and grocery stores, agreed to be sold yesterday to student loan provider Sallie Mae.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Industry observers said the deal would be a good fit for both companies. Sallie Mae, formally known as SLM Corp., started as a government-sponsored entity in the 1970s, but cut its federal ties two years ago and now manages $127 billion in student loans. Upromise, of Needham, is one of the country's largest managers of tax-advantaged college savings accounts.

``Sallie Mae has been looking to expand beyond just the core student loan business," said Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of FinAid.org, a financial aid resource owned by Monster Worldwide Inc. ``They're starting to run up against the limits of their market share."

Isn't that great.A company that has "special privileges" from the government(which has helped)make tuitions artificially high wants to go into other markets.What a scam.