Media mogul Rupert Murdoch is reportedly looking at recombining Fox (FOXA) and Newscorp (NWSA).

The Murdoch-owned Wall Street Journal is reporting the 91 year old Murdoch is currently in the early stages of the process of rejoining the two halves of his media empire, which had split in 2013. In 2019, Disney had acquired the majority of Fox’s entertainment assets in a $71 billion deal.

Both companies have established special board committees to flesh out potential financial terms, and the broad outlines of any potential deal.

Fox Corp includes the Fox Broadcast network, Fox News, the streaming service Tubi, and other local TV station affiliates.

News Corp is the publishing wing of the Murdoch empire, and is the parent company to HarperCollins and Dow Jones, which publishes the Wall Street Journal.

The Murdoch Family Trust holds a roughly 39% voting stake in News Corp, and a 42% voting stake in Fox Corp, according to SEC filings.

Lack of cash and increased competition have been driving a wave of consolidations recently, such as the merger between Paramount Global (PARA) and Warner Bros. Discover (WBD), or the acquisition of MGM Studios by Amazon (AMZN) in March. Companies hope such consolidations will reduce operating costs, and facilitate new revenue drivers and monetization opportunities.

News Corp shares rose 5% on the news, however they remained down more than 25% year to date.

Photo of Rupert Murdoch courtesy of Wikipedia