Caudwell was recently ranked 29th in the Sunday Times Rich List and originally set up the business with his brother in 1987. Its annual sales now exceed £2bn.
As a result of the decision to put the entire business up for sale, the group said it had delayed any final decision on the sale of its fixed-line Caudwell Communications business which it put on the market last month.
BBC News reported that Caudwell had "no wish" to split the firm up and sell it as individual companies. He also refused to put a price on the business, but did add that it compared favourably with rival Carphone Warehouse. Analysts last night were forecasting a sale price of over £1 billion,
Caudwell has 350 stores across the UK and employs more than 8,000 people across the globe.