The regional media group owned by Bermuda resident Bruce Gordon has played down speculation it is positioning itself to buy Australia?s Ten Network when the Australian government ends foreign and cross-media ownership restrictions next year, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.

Speculation has been rife that Mr. Gordon?s, WIN Corp, was preparing for a full bid for Ten after the company recently doubled its stake to an 11.21 per cent holding of the $1.2 billion media group.

However, Mr. Gordon?s son and WIN executive chairman, Andrew, told the Herald this week that the group had invested in Ten because of its strong management team and high dividends.

He said ownership rule changes would ?allow investors ? not necessarily us ? to come in and talk to (Ten)?.

?It?s nice to have a box seat,? he said. ?There?s a good chance someone will have to come and say to us we need your parcel. (Buying Ten) is not something that interests us necessarily.?

WIN is best known for owning Australia?s largest regional TV business. It is also biggest and most active investor in the industry with its stake in Ten, 1.5 percent of Publishing & Broadcasting Ltd and 44 per cent of Perth?s STW Channel Nine station.

It also owns the TV infrastructure business Digital Distribution Australia, which operates a wireless telecommunications network along the east coast and the TV production company Crawford.

Andrew Gordon ? who runs WIN with chief executive George Papadopoulos ? said WIN was focused on new markets. ?There?s a fair bit more blue sky outside mainstream media,? he said.

WIN recently bid for control of the fledgeling pay TV operator, SelecTV, and boosted its stake in SP Telemedia, a telecom and owner of Newcastle TV station NBN, to 19 per cent.

SP, an offshoot of the Soul Pattinson empire, is part of an alliance with Austar and Unwired, which has applied for Federal Government funding to build a wireless broadband network.

The Herald said that WIN?s wireless telecommunications network on the east coast opens the door for the regional broadcaster to move into internet television and even internet phone services.