Baccarat Aims To Raise 35M/Euros In New Capital

French luxury crystal manufacturer Baccarat S.A. hopes to raise around 35M/euros to expand its glassware business, according to La Tribune. The company, in which US investment company Starwood Capital holds a 51% stake, has scheduled a special shareholders meeting for 9 January 2006 to consider a capital issue, the newspaper says. Starwood will have to win the support of the Chambrun foundation, which holds 33.3% of the capital in Baccarat. If Chambrun objects to the capital increase, Starwood could elect to sell the company, according to speculation, the newspaper says. Starwood denies Baccarat is for sale. The glassware maker had sales of 130m/euros in 2005