JANA Partners, the activist hedge fund firm founded by Barry Rosenstein, has written a letter to Wolfspeed, the world's largest manufacturer of silicon carbide, to consider all options for improving shareholder value including a sale of the company, according to a report by Reuters.

The report quotes JANA, which owns what it describes as a "significant" stake in Wolfspeed, was writing in the letter that "all avenues to improve WOLF's performance" should be consider as part of a "comprehensive review of strategic alternatives."

JANA wrote: "Such an exploration of alternatives could uncover numerous ways to highlight and realise value, including through a sale."

In a statement, Wolfspeed, which has a market valuation of around $2.8bn, said that its board would carefully review JANA's letter, and that it looked forward to engaging with JANA in the near future.

Wolfspeed's share price has plummeted by almost half since January and has lost 63% over the past 12 months.