Shareholder urges Sallie to hold out for $60/share

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A shareholder of Sallie Mae (SLM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) has written to the student lender supporting the company's stance in holding out for the $60 a share that a consortium agreed to pay for Sallie Mae in a takeover agreement.

Investment firm QVT Financial LP said it manages accounts that hold about 1.4 million shares in Sallie Mae.

"We strongly support your decision to hold firm to your contract and a $60 per share sale price and hope you will continue to reject any overtures to renegotiate the contract price or the structure of the consideration," QVT Financial told the company in a letter.

A consortium of private equity firms J.C. Flowers & Co and Friedman Fleischer and Lowe and major banks JP Morgan Chase & Co (JPM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Bank of America Corp (BAC.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) agreed in April to pay $60 a share, or $25 billion, for Sallie Mae.

But since then, legislation slashing subsidies to student lenders and a serious credit squeeze have jeopardized the deal.

On Tuesday, the consortium sent a revised proposal to Sallie Mae offering to pay $50 a share in cash plus warrants that could result in an extra payout.

But Sallie Mae responded by saying it expects the buyers to honor their original contract.

Sallie Mae and the consortium were not immediately available for comment on Wednesday.