Medline, the medical supplies group backed by Blackstone, Carlyle, and Hellman & Friedman, is preparing a $5.37bn US IPO that would value the company at up to $55.3bn, marking one of the biggest private equity-backed listings ever launched in the United States, sources say.

The company plans to offer 179 million shares at $26 to $30 each. It has secured $2.35bn in cornerstone commitments from major global investors including Baillie Gifford, Capital Group, Janus Henderson, GIC, Viking Global Investors, Durable Capital Partners, and Morgan Stanley’s Counterpoint Global. Members of the Mills family, Medline’s founders, may acquire up to $250m of shares in the IPO.

If priced at the top end, Medline’s flotation would eclipse all US listings this year and represent one of the largest private equity realisations since the 2011 HCA Healthcare offering. It also surpasses the $1.75bn Venture Global IPO, currently the biggest US listing of 2025.

Medline reported $977m in net income on $20.6bn in revenue for the nine months to September 27, up from $911m on $18.7bn a year earlier. The company expects tariff-related costs of $325m to $375m in fiscal 2025, and a further $150m to $200m in 2026.

The Mills family founded Medline in 1966. The business was taken private again in 2021 when Blackstone, Carlyle, and Hellman & Friedman acquired it in a $34bn leveraged buyout, one of the largest in history. Since then, Medline has expanded through acquisitions, including Ecolab’s surgical solutions unit for $905m in 2024, and invested $1.6bn into its distribution network.

The IPO is scheduled to price on December 16. Medline will trade on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol MDLN. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, and JPMorgan are leading a syndicate of more than 40 banks on the transaction.

The listing comes as the US IPO market attempts a broader revival after a sluggish year marked by a prolonged government shutdown. Bankers expect private equity firms to drive a larger wave of flotations into 2026 as sponsors begin returning portfolio companies to public markets.

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