The holdout publisher in the Justice Department’s e-books price-fixing case agreed to a settlement with the government February 8, setting the stage for a showdown between Apple Inc. and federal prosecutors later this year.
Holtzbrinck Publishers LLC, which does business as Macmillan, will immediately lift its restrictions on discounting and other promotions by e-book retailers and will be prohibited until December 2014 from entering into new agreements with similar restrictions. It will also be subject to an antitrust compliance program.
