Paramount, California AG office reportedly plan to meet Monday to discuss settling WBD lawsuit - CNBC

Representatives for Paramount Skydance and the California attorney general's office are reportedly set to meet Monday to discuss a possible settlement of the antitrust lawsuit seeking to block Paramount's takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, according to The New York Times.
It remains unclear whether the talks will lead to meaningful negotiations or a settlement, with people briefed on the discussions cautioning against assumptions of a resolution.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, along with 11 other state attorneys general, filed the lawsuit in July challenging the roughly $110 billion acquisition, which would merge two major film studios and combine streaming platforms Paramount+ and HBO Max.
Bonta told CNBC he would "prefer to resolve disputes in the boardroom, not the courtroom," but warned that discussions would be "unproductive absent robust structural remedies" addressing his office's concerns.
He accused Paramount of previously deflecting from the core issues, saying the company wanted to discuss the streaming market, CNN, and foreign regulators rather than the three markets cited in the complaint where his office alleges antitrust violations.
Pressure to settle has intensified as California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, and the Directors' Guild of America have publicly called for a resolution, with the proposed deal poised to create the largest portfolio of TV networks in the U.S.