NewsCorp Subsidiary Settles Antitrust Suit for $500 million

Image via CrunchBase

A four-year antitrust battle between News America Marketing, a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch's NewsCorp that accounted for nearly 8 percent of  NewsCorp's operating income in FY 2009, and Livonia, Michigan-based Valassis Communications, Inc., concerning alleged unfair competition and tortious interference  in newspaper coupon insert publishing and other marketing practices, has ended.

Under terms of the settlement, NewsCorp reportedly will pay Valassis $500 million and News America Marketing will participate in a 10-year shared  mail distribution agreement with Valassis Direct Mail. The $500 million figure takes into account a $300 million judgment Valassis previously secured against NewsCorp in a related action in Michigan state court, as well as pending cases in California state court and federal court in Michigan.

The NewsCorp media conglomerate's holdings include Fox Broadcasting Co., The Wall St. Journal, and The New York Post.