Sallie to Buy GRP Financial

SLM Corp., commonly known as Sallie Mae, has announced an agreement to acquire GRP Financial Services, a specialty finance company that buys and resolves mortgage loans, for an undisclosed amount.Under the agreement, the company would be purchased from GRP's management and Angelo, Gordon & Co. "With the addition of GRP to our existing debt management operations, we will be able to service virtually every type of major consumer debt," said Tim Fitzpatrick, vice chairman and chief executive officer of Sallie Mae, which was created in 1972 as a government-sponsored enterprise specializing in student loans but severed its ties to the federal government last year. Under the agreement, the White Plains, N.Y.-based GRP would become a wholly owned subsidiary of SLM Corp., but would retain its brand and senior management team, Sallie Mae said. The former GSE, based in Reston, Va., can be found on the Web at http://www.salliemae.com.