However, as a result of the negative publicity from the FDA lawsuit, the company posted a $3 million loss that year. By 1988, the company had expanded its reach to Japan, Spain, New Zealand, Israel, and Mexico and increased its worldwide sales to $191 million in 1991. In 1993, the company underwent a secondary offering of five million shares. The company launched a line of personal care products in 1995 which included fragrances and facial cleansing products. The company was sued in civil court by two former distributors in 1997 for withholding earned income. In 1999, Hughes attempted to take the company private after asserting that Wall Street was undervaluing the company. While the board approved the buyout offer, shareholders of the company filed a suit against the firm because they believed the share price they were offered was unfair. Hughes eventually abandoned his attempt to buy the company and settled the suit with shareholders. On May 20, 2000, Mark Hughes died at age 44. Following his death, the company was led by Christopher Pair until October 2001. J.H. Whitney & Company and Golden Gate Capital In 2002, the company was acquired for US$685 million by J.H. Whitney & Company and Golden Gate Capital. Concurrently, plant sources of ephedrine were removed from Herbalife products in 2002 after several U.S. states banned supplements containing such herbs. In April 2003, Michael O. Johnson joined Herbalife as CEO following a 17-year career with The Walt Disney Company. On December 16, 2004, the company had an initial public offering on the NYSE of 14.5 million common shares at $14 per share, netting the owners $1.3 billion. In the mid 2000s, Herbalife upgraded its manufacturing facilities, moving manufacturing to around 60% in-house, and changed how the company sold its products to distributors. On May 7, 2014, the company announced that it entered into a deal with Bank of America Merrill Lynch to repurchase $266 million of its stock. In July 2016, Herbalife agreed to change its business model and pay $200 million to its distributors in a settlement with the FTC. The company announced in November 2016 that Chief Operating Officer Richard Goudis would take over the position of CEO in June 2017 and Johnson would transition to executive chairman. In August 2017, the company announced that it would repurchase up to $600 million of its stock. On April 25, 2018, Herbalife announced that it