Sou Hu Cai Jing·2025-12-23 08:01Core Viewpoint - Medline, a global healthcare company, has successfully completed its IPO on NASDAQ, achieving a market capitalization of over $54 billion, marking it as the largest IPO in the U.S. for the year [3][6]. Group 1: Company Background - Medline was founded in 1966 by Jim and John Mills, inspired by their grandfather's sewing business, and initially focused on manufacturing medical garments [4]. - The company briefly went public in 1972 but was privatized five years later due to poor stock performance, remaining a family-owned business for over fifty years [4]. - The current leadership includes the fourth generation of the Mills family, with Charlie Mills as CEO and Andy Mills as President [4]. Group 2: IPO Details - The IPO raised a total of $6.264 billion by issuing 216 million shares at a price of $29 each, with significant interest from cornerstone investors like Singapore's GIC [5][6]. - Medline's IPO was oversubscribed by more than ten times, making it not only the largest U.S. IPO of the year but also the largest globally for 2025, surpassing CATL's $5.3 billion IPO in Hong Kong [5][6]. Group 3: Financial Performance - Medline's revenue has shown consistent growth, with a compound annual growth rate of 18% since its inception, and sales reached $17.5 billion in 2020, a 25.9% increase year-over-year [6][8]. - The company’s revenue is projected to grow to $25.5 billion by 2024, with $20.6 billion already reported in the first nine months of 2025 [8]. Group 4: Private Equity Involvement - The company was acquired by a consortium of private equity firms, including Blackstone, Carlyle, and Hellman & Friedman, which purchased nearly 80% of Medline in a leveraged buyout [8]. - Since the acquisition, Medline's revenue has increased by nearly 50%, from $17.5 billion in 2020 to an expected $25.5 billion in 2024 [8]. - The private equity firms are expected to gain substantial returns, with estimates suggesting potential profits in the hundreds of millions [3][8]. Group 5: Market Impact - The IPO has been described as a significant event in the private equity landscape, being the largest private equity-backed IPO in history [8]. - Following the IPO, Blackstone and its partners are positioned to benefit from stock buybacks and tax incentives, further enhancing their financial returns [9].