Verizon Communications Inc. said Wednesday that it approved the spinoff of its telephone directories business, which includes its print and online yellow pages.

The newly created business will trade publicly under the name Idearc Inc.Verizon shareholders will receive one share of Idearc stock for every 20 Verizon shares they own as of November 1. The new stock will trade under the symbol “IAR,” and the distribution of the shares will occur on November 17.

The company also expects to maintain its quarterly dividend of 40.5 cents.

The New York telephone giant has been looking to shed the unit as it focuses on its core phone, Internet, wireless, and video businesses.

While the directories business is profitable, it continues to see its revenue and earnings decline. Last year, the Verizon Information Services unit posted revenue of $3.45 billion, down from $3.55 billion in 2004.

The business has an enterprise value, or the potential market cap including debt, of $13 billion to $15 billion, according to Robert W. Baird analyst William Power. The analyst has no conflicts of interest to report.

A spinoff was seen as preferable to a sale, because Verizon wouldn’t be taxed for the transaction.The company is planning on selling $2.85 billion worth of notes and an additional $6.51 billion in loans to finance the spinoff.

Moody’s Investor Services rates Verizon Directories Ba3, three notches below investment grade. The rating outlook from Moody’s is stable.

The rating reflects Verizon directories’ high debt burden when the spinoff closes, an expectation of relatively modest leverage reduction and increased competition from directory publishers and online service providers for the rating, Moody’s said in a statement published Monday.

Idearc will be based out of the Dallas/Fort Worth region and have 7,100 employees.

Verizon recently traded at $36.77, up 18 cents, or 0.5%, on volume of 4.2 million shares.

Average daily volume is 10 million shares.