![EU to End Price-Fixing Investigation With Apple, Publishers [REPORT]](https://helios-i.mashable.com/imagery/archives/02WNmodFIbGlpWzOh0wxhL3/hero-image.fill.size_1248x702.v1647021617.jpg)
The European Commission is expected to come to an agreement with Apple and four book publishers, ending a year-long investigation into whether they have been fixing e-book prices, according to a report.
In September 2011, the Commission began investigating claims that the publishers had priced their e-books in a way that prevented booksellers from selling books more cheaply than Apple, violating EU antitrust rules. According to an earlier report in Fortune, Steve Jobs cut a deal with the aforementioned publishers in early 2010 in an effort to drive Amazon’s e-book prices up.
Citing two unnamed sources, Reuters reports that EU regulators are planning to accept an offer from Apple, Simon & Schuster (CBS Corp., USA), HarperCollins (News Corp., USA), Hachette Livre (Lagardère Publishing, France) and Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holzbrinck (owner of Macmillan, Germany) to close the investigation without fines.
Penguin (Pearson Group, United Kingdom), which was also part of the investigation, has not joined in the offer, Reuters writes. The decision is expected to be announced next month.