The hunted may now be the hunter as MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) is rumored to be mulling an acquisition of People Inc. (NASDAQ: PPLI) — the media company that pursued a takeover of the casino giant and is its largest shareholder.

Late Thursday, barely 24 hours after Barry Diller’s company pulled its $48.30 per share acquisition offer for MGM, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Luxor operator is considering making a run at The Daily Beast publisher.

In after-hours trading, shares of MGM traded slightly lower on the news while People surged 9.13%.

On the surface, a casino company acquiring the publisher of Food & Wine, Investopedia and Travel + Leisure , among other publications, seems like an odd fit, but as the Journal points out, MGM could be motivated to get its hands on its equity currently controlled by the media company.

People owns approximately 27%, implying that MGM — long aggressive in repurchasing its shares — could retire a significant portion of its float by acquiring the media company and potentially do so at a favorable valuation.

As of the close of U.S. markets today, MGM sports a market capitalization of $9.52 billion, meaning People’s stake in the Bellagio operator is worth $2.57 billion. However, the market value of Diller’s company is $2.68 billion, perhaps implying that the investors that have argued that the stock price assigns essentially no value to the MGM stake are correct.

It remains to be seen if MGM moves on People, but if it does, the suitor could significantly reduce its float at favorable terms while gaining other assets it could later sell to raise even more capital.

For the moment, a leap of faith is required when it comes to MGM making an offer for Diller’s company, though the media mogul said after he pulled his takeover offer that he’s open to “strategic” deals with the gaming operator.