News America Marketing, a unit of the News Corporation that produces coupon inserts and sells advertising in supermarkets, settled a lawsuit this week with a competitor that had accused it of anticompetitive behavior and corporate spying.

On Wednesday, News America bought the company, Floorgraphics, outright for an undisclosed sum.

The lawsuit was settled after witnesses began testifying in the trial in federal court in New Jersey. The original lawsuit was filed in 2004.

In a brief statement, a spokeswoman for News America confirmed the acquisition, saying, “We’re pleased to be expanding our network of stores to better serve our customers and we’re very excited to incorporate the quality network so ably developed by Floorgraphics.”

In a court filing, Floorgraphics, which also markets in-store advertising, said that News America had “illegally accessed plaintiff’s computer system and obtained proprietary information from the computer system; disseminated false, misleading and malicious information about the plaintiff; and incorrect information about themselves to plaintiff’s existing and prospective clients, in an effort to induce retailers and clients to avoid doing further business with plaintiff.”