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Eddie Lampert raises stake in AutoNation

Billionaire investor Edward S. Lampert, already the largest shareholder in AutoNation Inc., spent nearly $3.2 million this week on more stock in the nation’s largest car seller.

Lampert, a former AutoNation director who is also chairman of Sears Holdings Corp., bought 529,300 shares at an average price of $5.99 apiece on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to a regulatory filing.

Lampert-controlled entities already controlled about 40 percent of the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., company’s stock, and they now own more than 78 million shares, or about 44 percent of AutoNation, according to the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

This week’s purchases were made on behalf of two Lampert-controlled entities, ESL Investors LLC and ESL Partners LP, both of Greenwich, Conn.

AutoNation shares rallied Thursday, closing up $1.32, or 22.2 percent, at $7.28. They have been slumping since mid-2007 and have ranged from $3.97 to $19.59 over the past year.

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http://www.cnbc.com/id/27706683/for/cnbc/