- Reuters reports Atmel (NASDAQ:ATML) is working with i-bank Qatalyst Partners to explore a sale and other strategic options. Shares have spiked higher.
- FBR called Atmel its top semi buyout candidate last week, while citing the quality of its microcontroller portfolio and the potential for a suitor to significantly improve Atmel's margins by shifting chip production to more modern fabs.
- Speculation that Atmel will be an M&A target have been running high for a while, thanks to CEO Steve Laub's retirement plans and a blizzard of chip industry M&A over the last 18 months (including some involving microcontroller makers such as Cypress and Freescale).