Reuters: Technology News: Amazon wins EU e-book pricing battle with Apple

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Amazon wins EU e-book pricing battle with Apple Dec 13th 2012, 11:34 Tweet Share this Email Print Related News As global consumers shop mobile, Apple outshines rivals Wed, Dec 12 2012 Hutchison wins EU approval for Orange Austria deal Wed, Dec 12 2012 Special Report: Amazon's billion-dollar tax shield Thu, Dec 6 2012 Top EU court upholds AstraZeneca fine over ulcer drug Thu, Dec 6 2012 EU imposes record $1.9 billion cartel fine on Philips, five others Wed, Dec 5 2012 Related Topics Investing Simplified » Tech » The Apple logo hangs in a glass enclosure above the 5th Ave Apple Store in New York, September 20, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Lucas Jackson BRUSSELS | Thu Dec 13, 2012 5:56am EST BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union regulators ended an antitrust probe into e-book prices on Thursday, accepting an offer by Apple and four publishers to ease pricing restrictions on Amazon and other retailers. The decision hands online retailer Amazon a victory in its attempt to sell e-books cheaper than rivals in the fast-growing market publishers hope will boost revenue and customer numbers. Reuters first reported in November that the Commission was accepting the settlement offer. The European Commission said in a statement on Thursday that the concessions from Apple and the publishers soothe concerns that their pricing deals curb competition. "The commitments proposed by Apple and the four publishers will restore normal competitive conditions in this new and fast-moving market, to the benefit of the buyers and readers of e-books," EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said. Apple and the publishers offered to let retailers set prices or discounts for a period of two years, and also to suspend "most-favored nation" contracts for five years. Such clauses bar Simon & Schuster, News Corp. unit HarperCollins, Lagardere SCA's Hachette Livre and Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck, the owner of German company Macmillan, from making deals with rival retailers to sell e-books more cheaply than Apple. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Rex Merrifield) Related Quotes and News Company Price Related News Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above.

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