Colorado and 32 other states have reached an agreement with Penguin Group USA settling allegations that it colluded with other major publishers and Apple to manipulate prices in the e-book market.
The agreement with Penguin must be approved by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Consumers nationwide — including those represented by attorneys general and those represented by private counsel in a related class action — will receive $75 million in compensation as part of the settlement.
“Penguin has reached a comprehensive agreement with the U.S. State Attorneys General and private class plaintiffs to pay $75 million in consumer damages plus costs and fees to resolve all antitrust claims relating to e-book pricing,” the publisher said in a statement.
Colorado had previously settled with four other publishers — Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Simon & Schuster and Holtzbrinck Publishers, which does business as Macmillan — over allegations relating to the same conduct.
The attorney general’s office said the settlement with Penguin will bring the total restitution available to e-book consumers of the five publishers to $164 million.
