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A Nebraska company announced Thursday that it has agreed to buy the student loan servicing arm of Madison-based Great Lakes Higher Education Corp.

Nelnet, a publicly traded competitor, will buy the nonprofit corporation’s student loan servicing company, Great Lakes Educational Loan Services Inc., for $150 million. Great Lakes employs about 2,000 employees nationwide, according to its website.

About 700 of Great Lakes’ Madison-based employees are included in the acquisition, said Nelnet spokesman Ben Kiser.

Kiser said it’s too early to speculate on the long-term status of Great Lakes employees included in the deal, but employees of both companies will keep their jobs and maintain their same duties for now.

Borrowers with loans serviced by the two companies won’t experience any changes, either, Kiser said.

Both companies have separate contracts to service federal loans for the Department of Education that expire in 2019.

Nelnet said Great Lakes CEO Jeff Crosby will continue to serve as its CEO, but over time, operations between the two companies will be consolidated.