BEGHIN-SAY INCREASES CAPITAL TO FINANCE EXPANSION
French sugar group Beghin-Say, which is
49.6 pct owned by Italy's Gruppo Ferruzzi, is to raise its
capital to 703 mln francs from 527 mln through a three-for-one
issue of shares and investment certificates to finance
expansion, president Jean-Marc Vernes told analysts.
    For the first stage Beghin-Say will issue some 2.05 mln new
65 franc shares at 500 francs to increase capital to 660 mln
francs. The share currently trades at 734 francs. Then 658,000
new 65 franc investment certificates will be issued at 400
francs, raising capital to 703 mln francs.
    The capital increase will bring the group around 1.2
billion francs in new funds to finance its expansion plans.
These include the possible acquisition of the Corn Products
maize starch plant at Haubourdin in northern France, Vernes
said.
    Ferruzzi is one of several groups bidding to buy all of
Corn Products' installations in Europe. Apart from the French
plant, these include three factories in each of Italy and West
Germany, two in Britain and Spain and one in the Netherlands
and Denmark.
    Corn Products has put a 650 mln dlr price tag on the
installations, and Beghin-Say estimates that acquisition of the
Haubourdin plant would cost between 80 and 100 mln dlrs, Vernes
said.
    If this bid fails, Beghin-Say would consider acquiring and
developing two other French plants, either in the maize or
wheat starch sector.
    Beghin-Say is also planning to finance European expansion
for its Kaysersberg subsidiary, another major reason for its
capital increase.
    Kaysersberg, which was transformed from a division of
Beghin-Say into a fully-fledged chemical subsidiary last year,
has been holding talks with other European companies on
possible accords, Vernes said. He added the company could be
introduced onto the Paris Bourse in the near future.
 REUTER
