L.A. billionaire Ron Burkle’s firm Yucaipa Cos. invested $150 million in supermarket chain Pathmark Stores Inc. on Thursday, a day after it was reported that he bought 9.2 percent of grocer Wild Oats Markets Inc. sending shares of both companies surging.

The investment by the Los Angeles-based private equity firm will allow Pathmark to upgrade existing stores and open new ones, Pathmark said.

Under the agreement, expected to close this summer, Yucaipa will purchase 20 million newly issued shares of Pathmark common stock, 10.1 million Series A warrants and 15 million Series B warrants. The shares will represent about 40 percent of Pathmark’s outstanding common stock.

Yucaipa also agreed to provide consulting services to Pathmark for five years.

Pathmark, of Carteret, N.J., has about 140 stores in the New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia areas. It has been struggling and announced in December that it was exploring options that included the sale of the company.

Yucaipa, which has a 20-year history of investing in grocery chains, bought 2.6 million common shares in Boulder, Colo.-based Wild Oats, according to a regulatory filing on Wednesday. Other supermarket chains that Yucaipa has previously invested in include Food4Less, Dominick’s, Ralphs Grocery Co., Smith Food and Drug and Fred Meyer.

Shares of Pathmark rose 32.1 percent on Thursday to close at $5.92, while shares of Wild Oats Markets jumped 14.5 percent to close at $10.61.