TRENTON, New Jersey (AP) ? Shares of the conglomerate Tyco International Ltd. rose more than three percent yesterday after a published report said the company was considering splitting itself into three separate entities.

Tyco shares rose 99 cents, or 3.3 percent, to $30.97 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Its shares have traded in a 52-week range of $25.66 to $36.58.

Citing unnamed sources familiar with the plan, The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that the Tyco board would meet this week to consider whether to spin off its electronics and its health care businesses as separate companies in tax-free transactions.

Tyco CEO Edward Breen would continue to run remaining operations which include security, fire-protection and pump and valve businesses under that plan, the newspaper said.

Tyco may be best known for ADT home-alarm systems and equipment used for fighting forest fires.

The Journal said a board meeting is planned for later this week in Bermuda, where it is officially based.

A Tyco spokeswoman at the company?s operational offices in West Windsor, New Jersey, declined comment yesterday.

Tyco has been recovering from accounting scandals. Last year, Tyco?s former chief executive, L. Dennis Kozlowski, and former chief financial officer, Mark H. Swartz, were sentenced to prison for grand larceny, conspiracy, securities fraud and falsifying business records. They are accused of conspiring to defraud Tyco of millions of dollars to fund lavish lifestyles. Both are appealing their convictions.

The company considered a breakup four years ago, but abandoned the idea.

In a conference call with analysts in November, Breen said the company was considering a range of options to improve the stock?s value, including a split-up.

While the rising stock price suggested Wall Street approved of such a move, some analysts said they were skeptical Tyco?s divisions would be more valuable separately than together.

?My main problem with the stock is not that it has a lot of unlocked value that somehow the market is perversely refusing to recognise,? said Dana Richardson, an analyst at Argus Research Corp. ?It?s the fact that there?s not sufficient top-line growth.?

At 2.8 percent, Tyco?s revenue growth last year was less than its leaders had forecast, with similar conglomerates averaging about 5 percent growth, Richardson said.

He called the $975 million sale price of Tyco?s plastics and adhesives business last month disappointing, and said fire-and-security business that would reportedly be Breen?s focus at Tyco has shown little growth.

But Carter Shoop, an analyst with Deutsche Bank North America, said he thought each spinoff and the remaining company would benefit from a separation.

?By being able to focus an entire management team?s bandwidth on one particular operating entity would be a positive,? Shoop said. ?If you have knowledgeable people to run those divisions, then your senior management team at Tyco is left with a much more manageable set of assets to work with. Ideally they would be able to focus more time and energy on that, and would be able to deliver better results.?

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