U.S. settles with publisher Macmillan in e-books case

By David Ingram

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Publishing house Macmillan on Friday became the fifth and final U.S. book publisher to sign a settlement with the government in a sweeping antitrust case that accused them of conspiring to raise e-book prices.

Macmillan and the Justice Department filed the proposed settlement, which requires a judge's approval, in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

A small firm that is also known as Holtzbrinck Publishers LLC, Macmillan was the lone holdout among five publishers that the government sued in April 2012. Three publishers settled immediately and the fourth, Pearson Plc's Penguin Group, settled in December.

The Justice Department will continue to litigate conspiracy allegations against Apple Inc