NEW YORK (AP) — Entertainment giant Paramount, which owns CBS and was behind blockbuster films such as “Top Gun” and “The Godfather” has agreed to merge with Skydance, the companies said.

The new combined company is valued at around $28 billion.

“Given the changes in the industry, we want to fortify Paramount for the future while ensuring that content remains king,” said Shari Redstone, chair of Paramount Global.

Redstone’s National Amusements owns more than three-quarters of Paramount’s Class A voting shares though the estate of her late father, Sumner Redstone, according to data firm FactSet. Shari Redstone had battled to keep control of the company.

Skydance, based in Santa Monica, California, has helped produce some major Paramount hits in recent years. Those include several Tom Cruise films including “Top Gun: Maverick” and installments of the “Mission Impossible” series.

Skydance was founded in 2010 by David Ellison, son of billionaire Larry Ellison, the founder of the software company Oracle. It quickly formed a production partnership with Paramount that same year.

David Ellison will be chairman and chief executive officer of what’s being called New Paramount. The agreement still needs regulatory approval.

The on-again, off-again merger arrives at tumultuous time for Paramount, which in an annual shareholder meeting in early June laid out a restructuring plan that includes major cost cuts. The company also saw a leadership shakeup earlier this year.

Paramount has struggled in an evolving media landscape, particularly as its traditional cable business has declined. To capture today’s growing streaming audience, the company launched Paramount+ back in 2021, but losses and debts have still piled up over time.

Sumner Redstone used National Amusements, his family’s movie theater chain, to build a vast media empire that included CBS and Viacom, which have merged and separated a number of times over the years. Most recently, the companies re-joined forces in 2019, undoing the split consummated in 2006. The company, ViacomCBS, changed its name to Paramount Global in 2022.

Under Sumner Redstone’s leadership, Viacom became one of the nation’s media titans, home to pay TV channels MTV and Comedy Central and movie studio Paramount Pictures.

Skydance wasn’t the only one to make a Paramount bid in recent months — Apollo Global Management and Sony Pictures also made competing offers. Late last year, Warner Bros. Discovery also made headlines for exploring a potential merger with Paramount. But by February, Warner had reportedly halted those talks.

France’s parliament is divided among far-left, center and far-right, as no single political faction even neared the majority needed to form a government.

President Emmanuel Macron, who has three years left of his term, anticipated that his decision to call snap elections would give the country a “moment of clarification,” according to The Associated Press, but the results told a different story.

This, less than three weeks before the start of the Summer Olympics in Paris, puts France at the center of international attention.

FRENCH PM TO RESIGN AS LEFTISTS NAB PLURALITY OF PARLIAMENTARY SEATS IN SNAP ELECTION

Second-round results tallied early Monday showed that a leftist coalition surged to take the most seats in parliament, according to The AP. 

Macron’s centrists have the second-largest faction, forcing the president to have to form alliances to run the government. Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally, meanwhile, finished in third after political efforts to keep its candidates away from power.

Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said he would offer his resignation Monday, although he could stay on through the Olympics or beyond if needed.

Official results released early Monday showed that all three main blocs fell far short of the 289 seats required to control the 577-seat National Assembly, which is the more powerful of France’s two legislative chambers.

FRENCH ELECTION PREVIEW: POLLS SHOW RIGHT-WING PARTY LEADS RUNOFF AS OPPONENTS URGE TACTICAL VOTING

French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron leave the voting booth before voting for the second round of the legislative elections in Le Touquet-Paris-Plage on Sunday. (AP)

Just over 180 seats will now be held by the New Popular Front leftist coalition, while Macron’s centrist alliance have more than 160 seats and Le Pen’s far-right National Rally and its allies hold more than 140 seats.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has made an unexpected visit to China, following his trips to both Ukraine and Russia to discuss a peace settlement for Ukraine.

Stepping off the plane, Orbán was greeted by Chinese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Hua Chunying and other officials.

He later posted a picture with Chinese President Xi Jinping, with which he wrote: “[Besides Russia and Ukraine, the end of the war] depends on the decision of three world powers, the United States, the European Union and China.”

Orbán visited Moscow and Kyiv last week, where he proposed that Ukraine consider agreeing to an immediate ceasefire with Russia.

Unlike most other leaders in the EU, the Hungarian prime minister is widely seen as having a close relationship with Vladimir Putin. He has routinely blocked, delayed or watered down EU efforts to assist Kyiv and impose sanctions on Moscow for its actions in Ukraine.

His visit to Moscow triggered condemnation from Ukraine and other European leaders, but Orbán justified the trip as an outreach effort.

“The number of countries that can talk to both warring sides is diminishing,” he said. “Hungary is slowly becoming the only country in Europe that can speak to everyone.”

Although Orbán has long argued for an end to hostilities in Ukraine, he has not outlined what that might mean for the country’s territorial integrity or future security.

Tightening ties with China

Two months ago, Xi made a similar trip to Budapest as part of the Chinese President’s three-country European tour that also included stops in France and Serbia.

Hungary and China signed a number of new agreements during these talks to deepen their economic and cultural cooperation.

Beijing has invested billions in Hungary and sees the European Union member as an important foothold inside the 27-member bloc.

In December, Hungary announced that one of the world’s largest EV manufacturers, China’s BYD, will open its first European production factory in the south of the country — an inroad that could upend the competitiveness of the continent’s car manufacturing industry.