A Big Medical Supply Company Is Going Public This Week. What to Expect.

Medline sells hundreds of thousands of different medical supplies to hospitals and other health providers. (Courtesy Medline)

Key Points

• Medline, a medical-surgical products provider, plans to offer 179 million shares at $26 to $30, potentially raising $5.6 billion.
• The IPO could be among the largest in the U.S., with Medline targeting a market value of $55.3 billion at the top of its range.
• Medline aims to reduce its net debt from $15 billion to $12.8 billion post-IPO, targeting a net debt to EBITDA ratio below 3.

The company that makes the baby blankets used to wrap newborns in delivery wards across the U.S. is going public this week, in what could be the largest initial public offering in years.

Medline, which calls itself the largest medical-surgical products provider, sells hundreds of thousands of different medical supplies to hospitals and other health providers. It plans to offer 179 million of its shares on the Nasdaq, or what will be around 14% of its class A common stock, priced at between $26 and $30.

The company expects the deal to garner net proceeds of $5.6 billion, if the shares are priced at the midpoint.

That would make the IPO, if successful, among the largest U.S. initial public offerings in years. Only three U.S. IPO’s have grossed $5 billion in the past five years, according to data compiled by Dow Jones Market Data. If Medline prices at the top of its range, the company could emerge with a market value of $55.3 billion, making it one of the largest healthcare companies in the U.S.

Bloomberg reported Monday that the IPO will likely price late Tuesday. That means the stock could start trading on Wednesday morning. Medline is majority owned by a private-equity partnership made up of funds managed by Blackstone, Carlyle, and Hellman & Friedman, which bought the company from its founding family in a major leveraged buyout deal in 2021.

Medline said in a filing that it has received indications of interest in purchasing up to $2.4 billion worth of its shares from funds or accounts managed by Durable Capital Partners, Janus Henderson Investors, Viking Global Investors, and Singapore’s sovereign-wealth fund, among others. Medline’s founding family, which still retains some ownership, says it will buy up to $250 million in shares, according to Medline.

The question is how much appetite there will be for the rest of the shares that Medline plans to sell. The company says it has clocked more than 50 years of consecutive annual net sales growth, and that it expects net sales growth to continue in the high-single digits. Net sales were 10.3% higher in the first nine months of 2025 than in the first nine months of 2024, and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization were up 4.4% over the same period.

Still, Medline’s period of private-equity ownership has left it with a significant debt burden. As of late September, it had net debt of $15 billion, and a net debt to Ebitda ratio of 4.5. There are no healthcare companies in the S&P 500 with a net debt to Ebitda ratio of more than 3.8, according to FactSet.

Medline plans to pay down debt with the proceeds of the IPO. In a securities filing, it said its total debt would be $12.8 billion after the IPO, down from $16.8 billion. It said in a roadshow presentation that it’s targeting a net debt to Ebitda ratio target of less than 3.

Medline has more than 43,000 employees. Half of its revenues come from Medline-branded products, while the other half come from products made by third-party manufacturers. Net sales were $20.6 billion in the first nine months of 2025, and its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization were $2.7 billion for the same period.

Founded in 1966, Medline company was publicly traded for a short period in the 1970s, but was taken private in 1977. Its sale to the private equity group in 2021 was at the time one of the biggest leveraged buyout transactions since the global financial crisis. The deal valued Medline at more than $30 billion, according to media reports at the time. Announced in June of 2021, the deal came after healthcare products shortages during the Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the precarity and weakness of the healthcare supply chain.

After the IPO, Blackstone, Harlyle, and Hellman & Friedman will each continue to hold 17.4% of the voting power over the company. A vehicle controlled by Medline’s founding family will hold another 17.4%.

Write to Josh Nathan-Kazis at josh.nathan-kazis@barrons.com