Billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who spent years defending Herbalife (HLF.N) against prominent short-seller William Ackman, said on Friday that he has sold some of his shares in the nutrition and weight loss company because the position had become too big for him.

FILE PHOTO: Billionaire activist-investor Carl Icahn gives an interview on FOX Business Network's Neil Cavuto show in New York, U.S. on February 11, 2014. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

Herbalife last year announced plans to buy back $600 million of its own stock as talk mounted that management had considered selling the company to a private equity investor.

For months, speculation grew over whether Icahn, who owned 47 million shares and was Herbalife’s largest investor, would sell some or even all of his stake.

“Given that our Herbalife investment has become an outsized position, representing approximately 24 percent exposure to total NAV (net asset value), it is only prudent for IEP to reduce its exposure,” Icahn said in a statement. He will have sold 11.4 million shares.

Icahn remains Herbalife’s largest shareholder, has five directors on the board, and said on Friday that its future is bright. “We believe Herbalife’s business is stable, the short-sellers have largely exited, and the Company is well-positioned for the future,” he said in the statement.