Oakley Founder Boosts Holdings to 59.6%

Sunglasses maker Oakley Inc.’s president and founder has added 932,400 shares of the Foothill Ranch company’s stock to his portfolio, boosting his ownership stake to 59.6%, according to documents filed recently with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Jim Jannard bought the shares April 28 for $6.94 a share. Oakley stock climbed $1.13 a share to close at $8.13 Tuesday after word of the purchase was released.

Jannard has been aggressively acquiring company stock since the price began sliding in mid-1996. He now holds 42.1 million shares, worth more than $342 million at Tuesday’s price. The shares traded in the mid-$20 range in the first half of 1996, peaking at $27.13.