The Canadian Press - ONLINE EDITION
OTTAWA - The Competition Bureau is investigating Indigo Books and Music Inc. (TSX:IDG) over alleged anti-competitive ebook pricing practices.
A spokeswoman for Canada's largest bookstore chain says the company was notified last week the competition watchdog has filed a court application seeking documents and other information from Indigo.
"As a general policy Indigo does not comment on matters before the courts or other tribunals," Janet Eger said in an email Tuesday.
The bureau also filed a similar order against Rakuten Inc., the Japanese ecommerce company that owns Kobo Inc.
The probe is part of the watchdog's ongoing investigation into the Canadian electronic book industry.
Last February, the bureau announced that four major publishers of electronic books agreed to changes that will result in lower retail prices.
The deal was expected to remove restrictions that prevented ebook retailers from lowering their prices, contrary to Canada's competition law.
The bureau said agreements have been signed with Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, Macmillan and Simon & Schuster.
A comment from the Competition Bureau was not immediately available.
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