(Adds quote, electronics retail context)
SYDNEY, May 19 (Reuters) - Australian electronic goods retailer JB Hi-Fi Ltd (JBH) said on Thursday it is in early talks about a possible buyout of privately-held 100-store rival The Good Guys Discount Warehouses (Australia) Pty Ltd for an undisclosed sum.
In a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange, JB Hi-Fi said the discussions were "preliminary and exploratory in nature" and that it had not decided whether to make a bid.
Australian media said The Good Guys, which is still controlled by the family which founded the business in 1952, was expected to fetch about A$1 billion ($722.8 million). JB Hi-Fi gave no valuation of the potential target.
"JB Hi-Fi understands that The Good Guys are looking at a range of options including an IPO on the ASX," the JB Hi-Fi statement said, referring to a potential initial public offering.
A takeover of The Good Guys would mean JB Hi-Fi has more than 300 stores in Australia and New Zealand, while expanding its offerings from its current range of largely tablets and video games to large home appliances like refrigerators and clothes washers.
JB Hi-Fi has seen its sales climb since the collapse of another rival, Dick Smith Holdings Ltd (DSH), this year, and a buyout of The Good Guys would help it take on electronics and appliances retail heavyweight Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd (HVN)
A spokeswoman for The Good Guys said the company had no immediate comment.
($1 = 1.3835 Australian dollars)
