By Greg Roumeliotis

Jan 23 (Reuters) - Microsemi Corp, the largest U.S. commercial supplier of military and aerospace semiconductor equipment, is exploring its options, including a possible sale, after it received a takeover approach, a person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

The move comes amid a new wave of consolidation in the semiconductor industry that has included Broadcom Ltd unveiling a $103 billion hostile bid to acquire Qualcomm Inc .

Microsemi has hired investment bank Qatalyst Partners to advise it on the best course of action, the source said, asking not to be identified because the matter is confidential.

Microsemi and Qatalyst did not respond to requests for comment.

Microsemi shares ended trading on Tuesday up 5.7 percent at $62.35 after Dealreporter first reported that Microsemi was exploring a sale, giving the company a market capitalization of close to $7 billion.

Based in Aliso Viejo, California, Microsemi is a supplier of high-performance analog and mixed signal integrated circuits and semiconductors to the aerospace and defense, communications, data center and industrial sectors.

The company has grown in the last few years through a wave of acquisitions, and has said it wants to expand further in aerospace and defense. (Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)