Sallie Mae sounded almost melancholy today when it announced that it had finally given up its attempt to sell itself to a group of investors led by JC Flowers. Like some desperate girl who had fallen under the delusion that she was being courted by a wealthy young man who actually wanted nothing to do with her, Sallie Mae spent the last eight weeks attempting to make its offers look attractive. No matter how many ways JC Flowers said no, Sallie Mae understood him to be asking for a better offer.

Now, at last, it has become apparent that no offer would be good enough to win back the interest of JC Flowers. Apparently there were quite a few investors who had shared the delusions of Miss Mae, and the resulting ticker of SLM looks absolutely bloody as investors are faced with the fact that this deal not getting done at any price. What's more, at least a few must finally have begun to wonder what exactly it is that JC Flowers found when it reached into Sallie Mae's chamber pot and fled forevermore.

Readers of DealBreaker, of course, have long known this deal was dead. Way back in September we told you that this deal was "Over, Done, Not Happening." In case this was too subtle we included a video game graphic reading "Game Over." In October we said it again. Since then we've mostly kept quiet on the grounds that if we hadn't already convinced you on this point, you probably could never be convinced.

Acquirers Abandon Sallie Deal [Wall Street Journal]