ATMI (Danbury, Conn.) made the announcement after the Bloomberg news service reported that the company had retained Barclays to explore its possible sale. The Bloomberg report, which quoted unnamed sources, said ATMI could be worth as much as $1 billion.
Shares of ATMI rose sharply after the Bloomberg report. Shares of ATMI traded for $29.40 in afternoon trading Friday, up nearly 8 percent from Thursday's close.
Last week, ATMI reported third quarter revenue of $100.2 million, down 8 percent compared with the third quarter of 2012. The company reported a net income for the quarter of $8.4 million, or 26 cents per share, down 42 percent from the year-ago period.
ATMI reported an 11 percent decline in sales for its microelectronics business, which was partially offset by growth in revenue for its life sciences business segment.
"Third quarter revenues in microelectronics were impacted by a weak wafer start environment, which is causing some customers to delay purchases, and ongoing headwinds from pricing and customer material efficiency gains," said Doug Neugold, ATMI's CEO, in a statement.
Neugold said ATMI has taken steps to improve its cost structure throughout 2013, which the company expects to begin paying dividends in the fourth quarter. The company reported $1.5 million in one-time expenses during the third quarter, primarily related to employee severance.
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