Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) pared losses in afternoon trading after Reuters, citing sources, reported that largest U.S. wireless carrier is mulling a sale of its enterprise assets which could be valued at as much as $10bn.
Shares were trading down at $45.75 at 1:15 p.m. in New York after dropping to as low as $45.25 earlier in the day.
People familiar with the matter told Reuters this week that the sale would include the business formerly known as MCI, which provides landline and Internet services for large business customers, as well as Terremark, its data center unit.
The people said the New York-based company is seeking to focus on its core business.
The businesses have been trying to keep up with advances in cloud computing, and run into tough price competition from players such as Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN).
No transaction is imminent, the people added.
Citigroup (NYSE:C) has been advising Verizon on the possible sale of the assets, which have estimated annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of around $2 billion, Reuters reported, citing the sources.
The enterprise telecommunications industry has had to adapt in recent years to corporate customers seeking more sophisticated and cheaper offerings to manage their data.
AT&T (NYSE:T) has been weighing a sale of its data center assets for some time, while Windstream Holdings (NASDAQ:WIN)sold its data center business for $575mln to TierPoint last month.