General Electric (GE) has announced it will sell nearly all of its property portfolio, worth $26.5bn, to funds including Wells Fargo and Blackstone, according to BBC News.

The sale is the biggest commercial property deal in the U.S. since 2007.

GE has been retreating from its property investments globally as it focuses on its industrial operations.

Without its properties, the company says it expects its other, "high-value" operations to bring in 90% of earnings by 2018, compared to 58% today.

The plan allows GE to buy back nearly two billion of its outstanding shares. A further $4bn of commercial real estate assets will be sold to other buyers.

GE said it hoped the divestment would make it a "simpler, more valuable" company.

Chairman Jeff Immelt said: "This is a major step in our strategy to focus GE around its competitive advantages."