Report: Verizon nearing $11 billion sale of wireless towers, plus landline assets

BloombergBusinesshas reported that "Verizon Communications Inc. is close to announcing deals to sell wireless towers and some local landline operations for more than $11 billion combined, according to a person with knowledge of the matter."

Following on an earlier Wall Street Journal report, Bloomberg's Scott Moritz notes that "the sales, which will raise cash to help pay for wireless airwaves purchased in a U.S. auction, could be announced as soon as this week, said the person familiar, who asked not to be named because the plans are private."

The Bloomberg report adds that "the sale of the landline operations includes some of Verizon’s fiber-optic network, or FiOS systems, in Florida, Texas and California, and may fetch more than $5 billion, the person said. The tower sale is targeting 12,000 antenna sites and has been in the works since September, people familiar said at the time, in a deal that may raise about $6 billion."

(Ed. Note -- CNET has also provided a good news analysis of this story.)