VeriSign looking to divest units: report

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Depending on its final decisions, VeriSign may emerge with only three major businesses, including its core Internet name registry and e-commerce security units, the Journal said.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Internet service provider VeriSign Inc <VRSN.O> is set to announce at an analyst meeting Wednesday that it plans to divest itself of as many as 10 of its 15 business units as part of a corporate overhaul, the Wall Street Journal said in its online edition.

Depending on its final decisions, VeriSign may emerge with only three major businesses, including its core Internet name registry and e-commerce security units, the Journal said.

According to the Journal, the majority of the business units it plans to shed will come from VeriSign's underperforming communications services group, which accounted for about a third of its third-quarter revenue.

Businesses it will look to divest include billing services for wireless carriers, communications consulting and other services, the newspaper added.

The Journal also said the company is weighing whether to keep its telecommunication messaging and content delivery units, which are also part of the communications services group.

VeriSign executives said the company is in talks with private-equity firms and wireless phone companies that could buy some of the units, the Journal reported.

The company also said it expects to shut down some of the businesses if buyers aren't found, the Journal said, adding that divestitures are expected to be completed by the first half of 2009.

Representatives of VeriSign could not be reached immediately.

(Reporting by Justin Grant; Editing by David Cowell)