General Electric is close to selling most of its $30 billion real estate portfolio, and top candidates to buy include Blackstone Group and Wells Fargo & Co.
The companies have been in talks to acquire $26 billion of GE’s holdings. If completed, the it would be one of the largest property deals ever. The holdings include commercial properties like shopping malls and office buildings spread all over the world.
Sources familiar with the deal told the Wall Street Journal that it could be announced as soon as Friday.
GE has been considering separating from its big finance business and most of its $500 billion lending operation, as investors have worried about the risk and CEO Jeff Immelt has come under pressure to focus GE as an industrial company.
In December, Blackstone raised $2.35 billion in the IPO of Hilton Worldwide Holdings. [WSJ] — Tess Hofmann