Perry ups ownership stake in J.C. Penney to 8.6 percent

Hedge fund manager Richard Perry, already a big owner in J.C. Penney Co Inc , bought additional shares in the retailer on Friday, according to a regulatory filing made just days after the largest investor announced plans to sell his stake.

Perry Corp said it bought an additional 3 million shares of Plano, Texas-based Penney in a secondary offering for $12.90 a share and that it now owns 8.62 percent of the company.

Perry now ranks as Penney's second-largest investor after George Soros. Perry Corp did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

The announcement comes four days after William Ackman, whose Pershing Square Capital Management had been the largest shareholder, said he was exiting his entire 18 percent stake. Citigroup Inc was offering the shares in the secondary market at $12.90 in a deal scheduled to close on Friday, Ackman said on Monday.

Penney shares were flat at $12.40 on Friday afternoon, having tumbled 37.3 percent since January as the company struggles to attract new customers after former chief executive Ron Johnson alienated many shoppers with plans to upgrade merchandise and streamline pricing strategies.

(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss in Boston; editing by Matthew Lewis)