Specialty chemicals firm Ashland weighs sale amid activist push, Bloomberg News reports

Reuters exclusively reported in June that activist Ancora Alternatives had built a significant stake in Ashland and wants the company to weigh a sale.

Following this development, Ashland settled with Ancora in July and appointed two new directors as part of the agreement.

As dealmaking surges, activist investors are pushing companies to sell their entire business or parts of it, heaping new pressure on boards and management teams.

Apollo, Ashland, Citi, Standard Industries and Lazard did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment, while Carlyle and Advent declined to comment.

Ashland is working with Citigroup and Lazard to explore a potential sale after receiving takeover interest from an activist investor, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The report said private equity firms including Advent, Apollo Global Management, Carlyle Group and Standard Industries have had contact with the chemical maker.