NEW YORK, United States — Perry Capital, the hedge-fund firm founded by Richard Perry, bought 7.3 percent of J.C. Penney Co. and asked the board to appoint a new chairman and chief executive officer, according to a letter sent to the company.

“We believe that immediately appointing Allen Questrom chairman of the board and Ken Hicks CEO is imperative at this juncture, and we anticipate that the company’s various constituents would be highly supportive of such a change,” Perry said the one-page letter sent to the board of the Plano, Texas-based company today.

Perry’s request follows a letter by Bill Ackman, J.C. Penny’s biggest shareholder, calling for a speedier process to replace CEO Mike Ullman. Ackman said today that former J.C. Penney CEO Questrom may be willing to rejoin the company as chairman even before a new top executive is chosen.

The retailer’s shares fell 5.6 percent to $12.90 at 2:33 p.m. in New York.

By: Katherine Burton; Editors: Sree Vidya Bhaktavatsalam, Christian Baumgaertel