McDonald's inviting bids for 33 percent stake in Japan unit: WSJ

McDonald's Corp is inviting bids for a significant stake in its Japan unit McDonald's Holdings Co Japan Ltd <2702.T>, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the situation.

The fast-food company owns just under 50 percent of its Japanese unit, and is looking to sell up to 33 percent, with bids due next week, the report said.

A number of private-equity firms are considering bids, the report said.

Morgan Stanley is running the sale, the newspaper reported, citing one of the sources.

McDonald's ��� which last week agreed to sell the bulk of its China and Hong Kong business to state-backed conglomerate CITIC Ltd <0267.HK> and Carlyle Group LP ��� said in January last year that it is looking to sell a portion of its stake in its Japanese business.

The company did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside regular business hours.

(Reporting by Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)