Carl Icahn has reduced his holdings in Hain Celestial by about half but will remain the Long Island-based largest shareholder in the organic-products company.
Icahn is selling his holdings as part of a sale of nearly 3.7 million Hain Celestial shares to the investment bank Jefferies.
Following the stock sale, Hain said Icahn will own nearly 3.6 million shares, or 7.5 percent of the outstanding shares of Hain.
Icahn first acquired Hain shares during the first quarter of 2010 when the share price was under $20.
Shares of Hain, which makes Celestial Seasonings tea and Earth’s Best baby food, fell 2.8 percent to $79.60 in after-hours trading. Still, the stock has jumped 51 percent year to date through yesterday’s close.
Hain said the shares were sold to Jefferies, which is underwriting the offering and has the option to purchase an additional 547,500 shares. Jefferies is proposing to sell the shares from time to time in one or more transactions.
Bottoming at a 52-week low of $51.51 at the end of 2012, Hain Celestial shares peaked last month at $85.48.