Comet's owner, Kesa, saw its share price rise 7% by mid-afternoon in London, while rival Dixons rose 10.6%.
Kesa - which also owns the the profitable French chain Darty - is under pressure from key shareholder Knight Vinke to get rid of Comet.
The sale may presage a closure of some of Comet's 250 stores, to the benefit of struggling rivals.
Comet - which contributes a third of Kesa's group revenues - saw sales fall 15% in the first four months of the year, compared with a 5.5% increase at Darty.
If the sale goes ahead, it is likely to go hand-in-hand with the delisting of Kesa from the London Stock Exchange, leaving the holding company with a listing in Paris.
UK electrical retailers continue to suffer from a sluggish recovery in consumer spending.
Dixons, which owns chains Currys and PC World, had to downgrade its profits forecasts in March because of weak sales.
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