UPDATE: Italy's Wind Would Consider Tiscali If For Sale

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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; [phone]; [e-mail]

(Sofia Celeste in Rome contributed to this story.)