E-BOOK PRICING

Justice Dept. Apple Lawsuit Drawing Near

Suit could come as early as Wednesday.

A filing could come as early as Wednesday morning as the Justice Department prepares to sue Apple over alleged e-book price-fixing. The DOJ is investigating whether the tech giant cut unfair deals with five publishers—Simon & Schuster Inc., HarperCollins, Hachette Book Group, Pearson, and Macmillan—to inflate the cost of e-books. Under the agreement, the publishers would set the price of the books, and Apple would get a 30 percent cut. The DOJ has been negotiating with publishers, and several are expected to settle this week. Publishers are expected to begin selling their content to other retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble at a lower cost.