Wells Fargo & Co. has reached out to private equity firms for a potential sale of its real estate brokerage and investment bank unit, Eastdil Secured, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing undisclosed sources.

One source told the publication that Wells Fargo officials do not see Eastdil's commercial real estate business as core to the bank and have considered a sale for a few months.

The value of the business, which Wells Fargo acquired in 1999, could not be determined and there is no assurance that a deal will materialize, The Wall Street Journal wrote.

The sale exploration comes as Eastdil's real estate brokerage peers CBRE Group Inc. and Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. have been seeing near-record-high share prices, driven by increasing commissions and property management fees from expanding global economies, according to the publication.

Eastdil is part of the bank's Wells Fargo Securities division and has global offices in major markets such as Los Angeles, London and New York.