FAIRFIELD, CT—General Electric Co. is on the verge of agreeing to sell parts or all of its real estate portfolio to the Blackstone Group and Wells Fargo, the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg Business reported Thursday afternoon. The sale or sales could be worth as much as $30 billion; an agreement could come as soon as Friday.

The WSJ reported that if a deal closes, it was likely to be “both large and highly symbolic” of GE's move toward focusing on its core businesses. “GE Capital's real-estate business is at the heart of investors' concerns that lending is too risky for the conglomerate,” Bloomberg reported. “Those concerns have weighed heavily on GE's stock, which remains stuck around $25, well below the $30 level it traded at before the financial crisis.”

Under CEO Jeffrey Immelt, GE—which has been a real estate player since 1973—invested heavily in commercial property.  Since the capital markets crisis of 2008, it has gradually pared down its involvement in the sector; however, sources told the WSJ it has begun to move more aggressively in this direction.

About $9 billion of GE's real estate portfolio involves ownership stakes that GE Capital has taken in properties. The remainder stems from investments in debt issued by property owners, the WSJ reported. GlobeSt.com will have more on the story as information becomes available.