By JEFFREY A. TRACHTENBERG
Facing the specter of Apple Inc.'s iPad launch, Amazon.com Inc. has agreed to halt heavy discounting of e-book best sellers in new pricing deals with two major publishers.
The e-book agreements, with CBS Corp.'s Simon & Schuster and News Corp.'s HarperCollins Publishers, mirror deals struck this year with Apple for the iPad: Some new best sellers will be priced at $9.99 but most will be priced at $12.99 to $14.99.
The new deals ensure that Amazon will have the same array of titles that rival what Apple will offer on its digital bookstore. Apple has forged deals with five of the six major publishers to provide titles on the iPad, which will compete with Amazon's popular Kindle e-reader.
Amazon declined to comment.
Other deals between publishers and Amazon could follow ahead of Saturday's iPad debut. The online retailer is in advanced talks with Lagardere SCA's Hachette Book Group, and Pearson PLC's Penguin Group, according to people familiar with the situation. Bertelsmann AG's Random House has yet to sign a deal with Apple.
Amazon, which launched its Kindle e-book reader in November 2007, has been a leader in pricing new best sellers at $9.99 in the digital format. Publishers objected to that price, fearing that consumers will come to believe that all books are worth only that much.
The issue of digital book pricing heated up earlier this year after the five major publishers, which also include Macmillan, a unit of Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck GmbH; Hachette, and Penguin reached an agreement with Apple to make their digital books available for sale on the iPad.
Macmillan then butted heads with Amazon by insisting on the same control over pricing.
HarperCollins Chief Executive Brian Murray said the deal with Amazon followed a month of negotiations. "Our digital future is more assured today than it was two months ago," said Mr. Murray, calling the agreement "fair" for both sides.
News Corp. owns The Wall Street Journal.
One digital publishing executive warned that there will likely be some near-term glitches. "People shouldn't overreact if an e-book isn't immediately available on one site or another," said Maja Thomas, senior vice president of Hachette
Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page B
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