Lampert Gains $160 Million Buying Sears Shares From Ziffs

Edward Lampert, the hedge fund manager who controls Sears Holdings Corp., has more than $160 million in paper profits on shares of the retailer acquired last month from a long-standing client, the Ziff family.

The billionaire paid $130 million in early January to personally acquire Sears shares from ESL Investors LLC, a partnership he runs for the Ziffs that follows the same strategy as his hedge fund, according to court documents and regulatory filings. The retailer’s stock has more than doubled since then, rebounding from a three-year low and ranking as the best-performing member of the benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.