Bill Ackman is grabbing for the reins at JCPenney again.
The retailer’s biggest shareholder — who has been locked in a bitter power struggle with CEO Mike Ullman — has moved to oust his adversary, demanding that Ullman be replaced within 30 to 45 days, sources said.
The hedge-fund tycoon has complained to Penney’s board that, despite continued deterioration in Penney’s finances, a search to find a replacement for Ullman had only begun July 22 — three months after originally planned, according to a letter obtained by CNBC.
Execs who have been interviewed for the top job include Ken Hicks, CEO of Footlocker, and Jerry Storch, who has announced plans to step down as CEO of Toys “R” Us.
Earlier this spring, Ackman had been sidelined by Penney’s board as he shouldered the blame for spearheading the disastrous appointment of former Apple exec Ron Johnson, according to insiders.
Johnson’s ill-fated tinkering with Penney’s pricing strategy spurred a $1 billion loss last year and sent sales plunging 25 percent.
The situation hasn’t improved under Ullman’s watch, with Penney shares this week hitting their lowest levels in more than a decade amid fresh worries about the retailer’s fast-eroding cash position.
“Bill [Ackman] is smart enough to recognize that investors are thoroughly demoralized and now is the time to pounce,” according to one source familiar with the situation.
Allen Questrom, the legendary retail merchant who led a successful revamp of Penney a decade ago, is meanwhile considering an offer to become chairman of Penney’s board, according to a spokeswoman for Questrom.
“He has not agreed to come back to JCPenney but would only consider it under the right conditions,” the spokeswoman said. “He would not do it in a hostile situation — it would have to be with a CEO he is comfortable with, and the CEO would have to be comfortable with him.”
Indeed, signs of a looming battle came as Questrom blasted Penney’s board lacking “a sense of urgency.”
“If I had a company that was in this kind of trouble I’d be much quicker to make a decision,” he told CNBC.
Penney returned fire, saying in a statement that reports of Ullman’s coming ouster were speculative.
Ullman, who had served at the helm of Penney for seven years until 2011, was initially called to return as interim CEO in April, with plans to begin a search for a permanent CEO soon after, sources said.
But Ullman quickly began to signal he was inclined to keep the top job for a longer period of time, sources said.
“Ullman thought he had the leverage at the time, and maybe he did,” a former Penney exec told The Post. “But now the tables may have changed.”
As reported by The Post, commercial lender CIT last week temporarily stopped approving financing to smaller suppliers for deliveries to Penney stores.
While CIT has resumed approvals on Penney accounts, it is doing so only gradually, with some suppliers complaining they have been told they will have to wait for weeks to get approvals.
“CIT is simply looking to bring down its Penney exposure,” according to a source, estimating that CIT has held between $180 million and $200 million in Penney receivables.
Penney denied The Post’s report, but its disclosure that it had $1.5 billion in cash on its balance sheet alarmed some analysts, who had been expecting $1.8 billion to $2 billion.
jcovert@nypost.com