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.
  

