* PGE says to chose advisor in the sale of 22 percent stake
* PKN Orlen says joint sale of Polkomtel stake possible
* Vodafone declines comment on interest in buying
(Adds Vodafone no comment)
KATOWICE/WARSAW, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Polish utility PGE said it wanted to sell its 22 percent stake in Poland's top cellphone operator, Polkomtel, joining refiner PKN which plans to unload its 24.4 percent holding.
Analysts have said the most likely buyer was British giant Vodafone, which holds 24.4 percent and would gain control of Polkomtel by buying out the two Polish companies.
"The current market situation seems to favour such transactions. We're preparing a tender for an adviser," chief executive Tomasz Zadroga said in a statement on Tuesday.
Vodafone, which in general supports such in-market consolidation, declined to comment.
PKN, under pressure to reduce debt, has been spearheading the push to sell Polkomtel, which would likely fetch a premium if at least two of its Polish owners sold their stakes.
"A coordinated Polkomtel stake sale between PGE and PKN is possible and would be advisable," PKN spokesman Dawid Piekarz said, adding no talks between the two Polish companies have taken place so far.
Copper miner KGHM, which also has a 24.4 percent stake, has been the main holdout, saying it had no need to sell.
"The management reiterates that our decision to sell our Polkomtel stake will be made before a big investment, when the company will need money," KGHM spokeswoman Anna Osadczuk said on Tuesday.
Polkomtel leads the Polish mobile market with 14.5 million users, competing with Deutsche Telekom's PTC unit, and PTK Centertel, owned by local France Telecom unit TPSA.
The operator booked a net profit of 379 million zlotys ($133 million) in the second quarter on sales of 2.04 billion. (Additional reporting by Georgina Prodhan in London) (Reporting by Patryk Wasilewski and Adrian Krajewski; Editing by Dan Lalor) ($1 = 2.845 zlotys)