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MILAN (MF-Dow Jones)--Wind SpA's owner, Egyptian businessman
Naguib Sawiris, said Tuesday he would consider buying Italian
telecommunications operator Tiscali SpA (TIS.MI) if it were for
sale, confirming a report in Italian business daily Milano Finanza
that sent Tiscali's stock up over 6%.
"We would be ready to examine this opportunity," the owner told
reporters on the sidelines of a forum.
At 1323 GMT, shares in Tiscali, which is restructuring its debt
and planning a capital increase after selling off its foreign
assets to focus on its home market, were up 6.4% at EUR0.30 in
Milan.
In an interview published early Tuesday in Italian daily
Corriere della Sera, Sawiris said he was no longer pursuing a
merger with Hutchinson Whampoa Ltd's (0013.HK) Italian mobile phone
unit 3 Italia, but he would revisit the idea if 3 Italia decided to
seek a tie-up.
"Both possibilities would bring a healthy consolidation to the
sector," said a Milan analyst.
Wind and 3 Italia compete in Italy's mobile phone market, while
Tiscali offers Internet services.
-By Rosario Murgida of MF-Dow Jones and Gilles Castonguay, Dow
Jones Newswires; +39 06 6976 6923; sofia.celeste@dowjones.com
(Sofia Celeste in Rome contributed to this story.)
