(Reuters) -Medline has confidentially filed for an initial public offering in the United States, paving the way for one of the major stock market flotations in 2025 that could value the medical supplies provider as high as $50 billion.
The company has not determined the size of the offering, it said on Thursday, but Reuters reported last month the stock sale could fetch $5 billion.
The offering would bolster the U.S. IPO market, which has staged a recovery this year due to a rally in equities and economic resilience.
It could also be a major win for its private equity owners – Blackstone, Carlyle and Hellman & Friedman, which together acquired Medline in a deal worth $34 billion in 2021.
Medline is one of the largest manufacturers and distributors of medical supplies such as surgical equipment, gloves and laboratory devices used by hospitals around the world.
The company was founded in 1966 by brothers James and Jon Mills and it went public in 1972, before being taken private again by the brothers.
Its longtime CEO Charlie Mills, the son of James Mills, retired from Medline last year, with company veteran Jim Boyle replacing him at the helm.
The IPO could value the Northfield, Illinois-based company at $50 billion and may come as early as the second quarter, Reuters has reported.
(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
