(Bloomberg) -- TPG Inc. is in advanced talks to buy tower operator Crown Castle Inc.’s fiber business for about $8 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. 

A deal for the fiber and wireless assets could be announced within weeks, said the people, who asked to not be identified because the talks are private. No final decision has been made and discussions could fall through or another buyer could emerge, the people added. 

Representatives for TPG and Crown Castle declined to comment. 

Crown Castle launched a review of the fiber business last year as part of a pact with activist investor Elliott Investment Management, which also won seats on the Houston-based real estate investment trust’s board. 

Crown Castle fell 2.3% to close at $90.73 in New York trading Thursday, giving the company a market value of about $39 billion. 

Private equity firms have been pouring cash into fiber and digital-infrastructure companies in recent years to help fund expansion. Crown Castle’s wireless assets include a network of so-called small cells — small antennas that increase a wireless network’s capacity. Those are connected by fiber optic cable. 

A sale would leave Crown Castle to focus on its core towers business, which has about 40,000 towers throughout the US, according to an investor presentation in November. 

TPG has a long history of investing in media and telecommunications. In September, it agreed to buy AT&T Inc.’s remaining 70% stake in DirecTV. 

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