Citigroup May Sell Student Loan Corp. to Sallie Mae Consortium

Citigroup (C) plans to sell its student-lending unit Student Loan Corp. to a consortium including Sallie Mae as early as today, The New York Post reported.

Citigroup owns 80% of the company, with another 20% being publicly traded. It is the country's second-largest student lender, after Sallie Mae.

The deal could see Sallie Mae and another company offer as much as $600 million to purchase the lender, The New York Post said without naming its sources. Still, the deal "could still fall apart," The New York Post reported.

Student Loan Corp. had a market capitalization of about $423 million at the close of trading yesterday. Its assets consist of a private student-lending portfolio and a government-guarantee portfolio worth about $40 billion.

The consortium are interested in splitting up the portfolio, with Sallie Mae taking the government portfolio. Citigroup could keep any assets that buyers are not interested in.

Citigroup and Sallie Mae both declined to comment to The New York Post.