UPDATED: A split could separate the entertainment assets from the publishing businesses of Rupert Murdoch's empire, whose stock jumped to a multiyear high in early Tuesday trading.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. in a brief statement confirmed Tuesday that it is considering a spinoff of its publishing assets. The company said it is looking at a potential "restructuring to separate its business into two distinct publicly traded companies."

The confirmation boosted the stock to a multiyear high.

The conglomerate's Wall Street Journal had overnight reported the company was mulling a separation of its entertainment and publishing assets. 

News Corp.'s stock jumped more than 7 percent in early Tuesday trading. As of 10:18 a.m. ET, the stock was up 7.2 percent at $21.53 after going as high as $21.75, a 52-week high and the highest level the stock has seen since late 2007.

E-mail: Georg.Szalai@thr.com

Twitter: @georgszalai