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Markets: Investors are taking companies private at a record pace. On Monday, it was Sallie Mae, the mammoth school-loan company, in a $25 billion deal. Do private equity firms know something the rest of us don’t?

It sure seems so to us. Make no mistake about it: Sallie Mae is big, and dominant in its industry. More than a quarter of all college loans made in America have been made by Sallie Mae.

Sallie Mae’s business relies on a unique symbiosis with the U.S. government. Since about 85% of its $142 billion debt portfolio is guaranteed by Uncle Sam, it’s what economists call a “government-sponsored enterprise.”

That said, Sallie Mae is just another company in a highly regulated industry that’s going private. The last one to announce was Texas gas giant TXU Corp., in February. Maybe it’s a sign that the recent surge in regulation of public companies has gone too far.

Yahoo!Finance: The High Cost Of Sarbanes-Oxley

More companies are going private to avoid headaches of stricter governance rules and quarterly reviews by Wall Street

After 45 years in accounting for public companies, Sonny Durham is relieved he now works for a private concern.

Durham, former chief financial officer of Sunair Electronics, put together the transaction that took private the once publicly held radio communications business with headquarters in Fort Lauderdale. “I was personally glad for the opportunity to get out of the public arena. For a small business, it was becoming very demanding,” he said.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the post-Enron law that placed new auditing and governance requirements on companies, has been blamed for many departures from the public market. At Sunair, for example, a tightening budget made it more difficult to add the staff needed to comply with federal reporting requirements, said Durham, who is part of the management team that took the business private.

Sun-Sentinel: A timely exit for many publicly held companies

Press Release

Robert E. Schmermer, Jr.

President & CEO

Dear Shareholders,

I am pleased to report that based on a majority vote of outstanding shareholders, Meritage successfully completed a “Going Private” transaction on January 23, 2007. As a result, Meritage has withdrawn its listing (MHG) on the American Stock Exchange and terminated the registration of its common shares with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. This move allows the Company to avoid the ever-increasing SEC costs (including Sarbanes Oxley Act costs) that disproportionately affect smaller public companies like Meritage.

Marketwire: Meritage Completes “Going Private” Transaction