NEW YORK CITY—Verizon Communications isplanning to sell and lease back its wireless network towers by theend of this year, a deal that could raise about $6 billion,according to published reports. Bloomberg and Reuters reported Tuesday evening that thenation's largest mobile-phone company has hired TAPAdvisors, which advised on two previous tower portfoliodeals. A Verizon spokesman tells GlobeSt.com the company has nocomment.

According to Bloomberg, a sale would involve about 12,000 towersand could be announced within 30 to 60 days. The estimated$6-billion selling price is based on the per-tower price thatAT&T got in 2013 when it sold CrownCastle International 600 towers and the exclusive rightsto lease 9,100 more for $4.83 billion.

“We believe there could be multiple bidders for this asset butbelieve the potential sale of the last sizeable US tower assetcould explain why CCI has not announced a capital return strategyto date,” Macquarie Securities analystKevin Smithen wrote in a note cited byReuters.