Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA) has hired Goldman Sachs to explore sale of a stake in its shallow water Gulf of Mexico assets, according to Reuters. The divestiture would be part of a $4 billion asset sale plan, with Apache previously hiring Jefferies Group to sell its deepwater assets in the Gulf of Mexico.www.apachecorp.com

Sallie Mae Corp. (NYSE: SLM) said that it would spin off its consumer banking business via a tax-free distribution of common stock to shareholders. No specific financial details were disclosed. Sallie Mae also announced that president and COO John Remondi would take over as CEO, from the retiring Albert Lord. The spin-off will be run by Joseph DePaulo. www.sallliemae.com

Service Corp. International (NYSE: SCI), a Houston–based funeral home and cemetery operator, has agreed to acquire Jefferson, La.–based rival Stewart Enterprises Inc. (Nasdaq: STEI) for $1.4 billion in cash. The $13.25 per share deal represents a 36% premium over yesterday’s closing price.www.stewartenterprises.com

Bright Horizons Family Solutions (NYSE: BFAM) has filed for a secondary public offering of 8.5 million shares. Nearly 8.4 million of the shares will be offered by Bain Capital, which would lower its ownership percentage from 79.7% to 66.7%. Bright Horizons went public in January at $22 per share, and closed trading yesterday at $35.48 per share. www.brighthorizons.com

Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO) has agreed to acquire JouleX, an Atlanta-based provider of enterprise IT energy management solutions for network-attached and data center assets. The deal is valued at $107 million in cash and retention-based incentives, and is expected to close in Q4. JouleX was founded in Munich four years ago, and raised over $17 million in VC funding from Target Partners, Flybridge Capital Partners, Sigma Partners, Intel Corp. and TechOperators. www.joulex.net

GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK) has acquired Okairos, a Swiss developer of the first ever respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine. The deal is valued at around €250 million. Okairos had raised around $30 million in VC funding from BioMedPartners, Life Sciences Partners, Novartis Venture Funds and Versant Ventures. www.okairos.it

Warburg Pincus has agreed to sell its remaining 2.49 million shares in Primerica Inc. (NYSE: PRI) back to the company for $86.28 million. It also will sell back warrants valued at around $68 million.www.primerica.com

Jones Energy Inc., an Austin-based E&P company focused on the Anadarko and Arkoma basins of Texas and Oklahoma, has filed for a $250 million IPO. It plans to trade on the NYSE under ticker symbol JONE, with J.P. Morgan serving as lead underwriter. Company shareholders includeMetalmark Capital Partners. www.jonesenergy.com

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