Verizon Communications Inc. is close to selling a package of assets including cellphone towers and parts of its wireline business, a group of deals whose value could top $15 billion, people familiar with the matter said.

The deals will involve different buyers and could be announced as soon as later this week, the people said. They come as Verizon is working to pay down debt and cover the $10.4 billion in wireless licenses it won in a government auction that closed last week.

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