Hachette Book Group is close to buying Perseus Books Group, the sixth-largest U.S. publisher, the New York Times reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The deal will give Hachette, the fourth-largest U.S. publisher, leverage in a months-long dispute with e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc over the pricing terms of e-books, the New York Times said.The e-commerce giant has already cut the number of print books it buys from Hachette, delayed the delivery of some of the publisher's titles and even removed an option for buyers to pre-order "The Silkworm", Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling's second crime novel, written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.Amazon has a record of combative negotiations.With the world's largest online retailer now dominating the e-book market, it has begun demanding that publishers cut prices and pay higher fees.
Amazon.com, Inc. (Amazon.com) serves consumers through its retail websites and focus on selection, price, and convenience. Shares of AMZN fell by 0.94% or $-3.08/share to $324.16. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $265.00 and as high as $408.06. On average, 4815240 shares of AMZN exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 2624209.
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