Apple and Publishers Offer Consessions to End EU Antitrust Investigation

Apple and four major publishers have offered to let Amazon sell e-books at a discount for two years in an attempt to end an EU antitrust investigation and avoid fines, according to a Reuters report. The companies are being investigated for allegedly colluding to fix the prices of e-books.

The Commission was now sounding out opinions from the industry as to whether the concessions are sufficient, the person familiar with the matter said, before a formal market test which could lead to the investigation being dropped.

"The Commission is market testing the commitments on an informal basis," the source said.


The four publishers are Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, Hachette Livre and Macmillan.

In the United States, Apple recently filed a strongly worded objection to the Department of Justice's settlement with three book publishers calling it 'unlawful'.

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