McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD) (McD) may sell its Japanese unit. Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter as saying that McD is looking for bids of up to a 33% stake in the unit. A McD's spokesperson said the company is exploring a sale of a stake in McDonald's Holdings Company (Japan), Ltd. (JASDAQ:2702), but no decision has been made.

McDonald's owns just less than 50% of the unit with a market cap of $3.5 billion. The news report added that private equity firms are said to be interested in the Japanese McDonald's operations.