EU to investigate suspected collusion in e-book market

Five major publishing houses and technology company Apple are being investigated by EU competition watchdogs to see if they have colluded to restrict competition in the market for e-books.

The European Commission’s investigation focuses on potentially anti-competitive practices by Hachette Livre, Harper Collins, Simon & Schuster, Penguin and Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holzbrinck.

The Commission said it “will in particular investigate whether these publishing groups and Apple have engaged in illegal agreements or practices that would have the object or the effect of restricting competition in the EU”.

The announcement follows raids in the offices of several publishers earlier this year and a related probe launched by the UK Office of Fair Trading.