Pernod in bid for OFT data

PERNOD Ricard is using the Freedom of Information Act in an unprecedented attempt to force the Office of Fair Trading to release commercially sensitive data about a major competitor.

Legal experts say the move by the French drinks giant, which is in a regulatory battle to land its £8bn takeover of Allied Domecq, could lead to a swathe of claims by companies wishing to see material gathered by competition authorities.

Pernod, led by Patrick Ricard, wants information on rival Bacardi, the family-owned white rum maker that was at one stage also seen as a potential bidder for Allied Domecq.

It is seeking details about a heavily edited version of a notice issued by the OFT in 2002, setting out its case that Bacardi had been abusing a dominant position in the British white rum market.

A Pernod venture called Havana Club Holding has lodged an 11-page complaint with the Information Commissioner against the OFT for refusing its request to see all internal communications of the two-and-a-half year probe into the business practices of Bacardi, which claims 90% of pub and bar sales of white rum in the UK.

The rivalry between Pernod and Bacardi, which have fought a long battle over rights to the Havana Club trade mark, has added piquancy to the latest spat. Mike Pullen, a partner at Pernod's law firm DLA Piper, said: 'We got certain documents from the OFT, but we believe they should have given us more.'

Critics say that if Pernod succeeds and sets a precedent, it will compromise regulators' carefully-guarded confidentiality and their ability to conduct future investigations.

Stewart Dresner, head of publisher Privacy Laws & Business, said: 'Major companies are now realising that this new Freedom of Information Act has immense importance for business.

'Many of them formerly regarded the law as only relevant to the public sector, but regulators hold a great deal of information traditionally regarded as commercially confidential.'

Simmons & Simmons partner Tony Woodgate, representing Bacardi, said the Freedom of Information Act means anybody can apply to see the regulatory documents.

'The Act does not require a person to have special standing or interest in the outcome of competition infringement proceedings before being entitled to have access to the requested information,' he added.

So far the OFT is resisting Pernod's claim and has simply provided documents in which potentially commercially sensitive details have been deleted.

It says it considers itself protected by legislation in the 2002 Enterprise Act criminalising the disclosure of confidential business data.

Pernod's claim will now test whether the FoI act takes precedent. The Information Commissioner is considering both positions and a decision is imminent.