Business news for Fri, 14 Dec 2007 & with word buyout. 7 news.

Sallie Mae, the giant student lender whose $25 billion buyout is all but dead, said after the market closed on Friday that its executive chairman would again take up the role of chief executive. Albert L. Lord, who served as vice chairman and C.E.O. from 1997 to 2005, will take up the latter role once again. [...]

THE Nissan Motor Co and Chrysler LLC, the third-largest Japanese and US auto makers, may share technology to develop new cars and trucks, say sources. The talks are said to focus on pickups, small cars and engines, Bloomberg News said. Nissan wants to tap Chrysler's expertise with large trucks, while Chrysler, acquired five months ago by buyout firm Cerberus Capital Management LP, seeks access to Nissan's small cars. A deal may help both companies save money as Chrysler battles two years of losses and Nissan confronts a 16-percent decline in its stock price this year. It would add to a growing list of partnerships aimed at expanding product lineups and keeping assembly plants running with minimal investment. "Collaborating is going to be a way of life," said David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan. "Costs are high. You have GM and Toyota with global economies of scales. That ramps up the pressure dramatically."

The $6.3 billion buyout of HCR Manor Care, the largest nursing home chain in the United States, faces challenges on at least two fronts this week. One is in West Virginia, where state regulators were holding a public hearing Friday morning to reconsider their approval of Carlyle Group’s acquisition of seven facilities in the state. [...]

Paternoster, the privately owned pensions buyout firm, has taken on the £800 million scheme of P&O, the former UK shipping group now owned by Dubai's DP World.

THE Original Factory Shop, the chain which sells everything from clothing to toiletries, has been sold for £68.5m via a secondary management buyout (MBO).

YORKSHIRE architectural practice Bond Bryan has been bought by four of its management team from the founders Jon Bond and John Bryan.

Duke Street Capital has bought discount retailer The Original Factory Shop for ?68.5m in a secondary buyout.