Belgian brewer Interbrew said on Monday it plans to take legal action against the British newspaper The Guardian after it refused to hand over leaked documents alleging the company was planning to take over South African Breweries.
Interbrew said in a statement that it had ”no choice” but to take the daily before a British court ”since it is now clear that The Guardian is not willing to enter into a constructive settlement dialogue.”
Reports in The Guardian in November, as well as in four other British news organisations, quoted leaked documents that said Interbrew had prepared an offer for SAB worth 6,4-billion euros.
Interbrew immediately denied the reports, saying it had merely conducted a routine study to assess rivals and that the documents were ”falsified.”
The Guardian said it was ”surprised and disappointed” by Interbrew’s decision to ”single out” the newspaper.
”We are not aware of any significant difference between our position and that of the four other media organisations involved,” the paper said in a statement.
”Like them, on Friday we indicated to Interbrew’s solicitors that we welcomed any attempt to resolve this matter, and we not unreasonably requested an extension to Interbrew’s deadline to allow time for a full discussion with London’s Financial Services Authority (FSA).
”That extension has been granted to the four other media organisations, but not to us,” the statement said.
Interbrew’s statement said that it was close to reaching a deal with Reuters, The Financial Times, and The Times, who had requested a short delay to hand over the documents.
It also said that it had accepted claims by British daily The Independent that it did not hold an original copy of the documents.
But the Belgian brewer said that while The Guardian earlier claimed it had received the leaked documents, it ”now suggests that the documents are not in its possession, rather that they are in the possession of their journalist and that they are not willing to compel him to hand them over” to the FSA.
Last week, all five news organisations involved said they would take the issue to the European Court of Human Rights, accusing Interbrew of violating press rights by forcing them to hand over the documents, which would also endanger the documents’ source.
”Our position remains that we believe this case raises fundamental issues about the confidentiality and protection of journalists’ sources, and has serious implications for the freedom of the press,” The Guardian statement said on Monday. – Sapa-AFP