NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Verizon Communications Inc. is close to putting in motion long-awaited plans to shed its directory business.

The company said Friday that it has filed papers with the Securities and Exchange Commission which will allow it to spin off the domestic print and Internet yellow pages directories to its stockholders, called Directories Corp.

A proposed spinoff would create a new, publicly traded company with management independent from Verizon.

The company would be headquartered in Dallas and would have approximately 7,100 employees.

Directories Corp. would be renamed but would continue to operate Verizon's current domestic directories publishing business, the company said.

Verizon has not yet made a final decision on whether a spin-off will occur, but the company said it expects to complete a disposition of its directories publishing operations - which could include the spinoff, a sale or other transaction, or combination of these alternatives - by the end of 2006.

In December 2005, Verizon announced that it was reviewing strategic alternatives for these operations.

Shares of Verizon (Charts) closed at $33.02 on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday.

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