Harold Simmons said he wants more of Sea-Land.

The Dallas investor formally requested approval from Sea-Land, an Edison, N.J.-based shipping and container concern, to increase his ownership in the company beyond the 34.8% he already owns. According to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Simmons made the request in a Dec. 24 letter to the Sea-Land board of directors and requested a response before Jan. 6. Approval from the board for Simmons to boost his stake above 35% is needed to avoid triggering a “poison pill” defense that would force the company to prepay its lenders more than $400 million in debt, thus incurring $35 million in penalties.