Viacom could be reunited with CBS in time for the holidays, sources with knowledge of the situation at the troubled conglomerate told The New York Post’s Claire Atkinson.

After a tumultuous two years that’s seen Viacom’s stock price plunge and the ouster of CEO Philippe Dauman by Shari Redstone, Viacom and CBS’ parent company, National Amusements, is exploring re-merging the two companies.

RELATED: National Amusements Officially Asks CBS, Viacom to Consider Merging

Viacom and CBS have been run separately and together over the course of both their histories.

In 2000, Viacom bought CBS and in 2006, CBS was spun back out. At the time, Viacom — with its many cable networks such as Comedy Central, MTV, VH1 and Nickelodeon — was considered to be the growth opportunity while old-school CBS, with such mature assets as radio and television stations, was thought to be the more stagnant company.

In practice, however, CBS, under the stewardship of the well-respected Moonves, has proved to be the more healthy of the two companies, while Viacom has struggled, especially in the past two years.

According to multiple reports, Ms. Redstone is pushing for the recombined company to be run by Moonves, who is playing uncharacteristically coy about the opportunity.

On Wednesday at a conference sponsored by Vanity Fair in San Francisco, Moonves said, “We’re just starting the process of exploring the possibility. There’s committees, there’s bankers, there’s lawyers. That’s all I am going to say about that,” according to the New York Post’s Keith Kelly.

Pressed about why he wouldn’t want such a big job during a panel, Moonves joked: “I’m too old and too rich, OK?”

READ MORE: The New York Post

[Image courtesy of Getty Images via The New York Post]

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