Insignia Systems wins $20 million legal settlement

A News Corp. affiliate has agreed to pay Minneapolis-based Insignia Systems $20 million to settle a 2019 antitrust lawsuit.

The deal was reached July 1 and disclosed this week in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

"We are happy to have the litigation resolved and look forward to the next chapter of Insignia," CEO Kristine Glancy said in an e-mail.

Insignia Systems provides point-of-purchase — industry parlance for in-store — advertising and marketing displays for retailers and other clients. News Corp. affiliates — News America Marketing FSI LLC and News America Marketing In-Store Services LLC — are among Insignia's few competitors in the specialized industry.

The lawsuit was separate from a 2011 antitrust suit that resulted in News Corp. paying Insignia Systems $125 million.

In the antitrust suit filed against News Corp. in July 2019, Insignia Systems alleged that News America "acquired and maintained a monopoly in this market through exclusionary agreements". The case was referred to mediation in January, and the two sides settled last week.

Since the most-recent suit was filed, News Corp. has sold News America Marketing to Charlesbank Capital Partners, a private equity firm with offices in Boston and New York. The approximately $235 million deal was closed in the spring of 2020. Charlesbank has since changed its name to Neptune Retail Solutions.

Last December, Insignia Systems shares jumped 200% after the company announced it was seeking strategic alternatives, which usually means an ownership change through a merger, acquisition or other business combination.

Since then, shares have declined, though they've risen in the past two days on news of the settlement. Insignia's shares closed Thursday at $8.10, up 5.7%, and closed Friday at $9.18, up 13.3%.