NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Qwest Communications International Inc., which is facing a regulatory probe of its accounting practices, is in negotiations to sell QwestDex, its Yellow Pages directory business, for as much as $9 billion, people familiar with the talks told CNN/Money.

Also, Qwest announced it is cutting 2,000 jobs and that revenues for 2002 will be lower than current Wall Street forecasts.

Bidders for QwestDex, which generated $1 billion in earnings before taxes last year, include the Blackstone Group LP, Hicks Muse Tate & Furst Inc. and Forstman Little & Co., the sources said.

The announcement of a sale could come within six months, according to one source. Because of the high price tag of the unit, some of the private equity companies could make joint bids for QwestDex, a separate source said.

A Qwest (Q: Research, Estimates) spokesman said the company is looking to sell some of its assets.

After the closing bell, the company announced it expects revenues for the full year to be $18 to $18.4 billion, compared to the $19.2 billion expected by analysts surveyed by First Call. Qwest blamed weakness in the telecom sector, regional economy and its 14-state local service area.

Qwest said it expects earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization to be $6.4 to $6.6 billion, with capital expenditures between $3.1 and $3.3 billion.

The company also said it is cutting 2,000 more employees through attrition and layoffs.

"We believe this guidance is realistic, assuming no further deterioration in the regional economy or industry outlook," said Joseph P. Nacchio, Qwest chairman and CEO, in a statement.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has launched a formal probe of Qwest, and is investigating how the telecom booked revenue from some of its deals in 2000 and 2001.

On Tuesday Qwest announced it had paid Nacchio more than $27 million last year.