Paramount and California to hold preliminary talks on Warner Bros deal, NYT reports

Aug 22 (Reuters) - Paramount and California state officials are set to meet on Monday to ‌discuss a potential settlement path of the ‌state's lawsuit aimed at stopping Paramount's acquisition of Warner Bros. ​Discovery, the New York Times reported on Saturday citing sources familiar with the discussions. Here's what to know:

• The talks are preliminary, and there is no ‌assurance that they ⁠will lead to meaningful negotiations toward a settlement, the report said, adding that ⁠Paramount requested the meeting.

• Reuters couldn't immediately verify the report. Paramount didn't immediately respond to a request ​for comment ​outside regular business hours.

• ​The meeting, which will ‌include senior executives and lawyers from each side, has been in the works for a little over a week, NYT added, citing one of the people.

• Last month, California and 11 states sued ‌to block Paramount's $110 billion acquisition ​of Warner Bros. Discovery, alleging ​the deal would ​lessen competition in film distribution and ‌cable television, harming theaters and ​pay TV ​distributors.

• States including New York, Arizona and Minnesota argued the deal would harm theaters and television ​distributors, raise ‌prices for consumers and make wages less competitive ​for workers.

(Reporting by Disha Mishra in Bengaluru, ​Editing by Franklin Paul)