News Corp has agreed to sell to Charlesbank private equity its troubled News America Marketing (NAM) coupon-publishing unit, for $50m in upfront cash and deferred payments totalling some $185m.
NAM creates in-store and publication coupon inserts. It helps brands promote goods at 55,000 stores in the US and Canada through displays, signs and shopping-cart ads. It also helps businesses reach consumers through its library of purchase data by millions of shoppers. It has controlled over 90% of the in-store ad market since 2009 and, in 2014, Valassis (its last remaining rival) quit the market. But the News Corp subsidiary has reported lower revenues for the last two years.
NAM has long been the subject of litigation in the US and settled a class action law suit for $250m in 2016. Two years later, it made another $165m settlement arising from claims by brands that the company had used its monopoly position to over-charge clients for in-store advertising. The claims have always been denied.
