June 7, 2021 – Medline Industries, Inc. (Northfield, IL), has entered into a definitive agreement through which it will receive a majority investment from a partnership comprised of funds managed by Blackstone, Carlyle, and Hellman & Friedman.
Following the close of the transaction, Medline will remain a privately held, family-led company. Medline will continue to be led by the Mills family, who will remain the largest single shareholder. The entire senior management team will stay in place, Medline says.
The company plans to use the new resources from the partnership to expand its product offerings, accelerate international expansion and continue to make new infrastructure investments to strengthen its global supply chain.
Including debt, the transaction would be valued at about $34 billion, and north of $30 billion excluding borrowings, people familiar with the matter said. That could potentially make it the largest healthcare leveraged buyout ever, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Family-owned Medline is a major player in the field of medical equipment. Brothers James and Jon Mills founded the company in 1966, taking it public in 1972. The brothers bought back the shares five years later. James’s son Charlie has been Medline’s CEO since 1997.
It manufactures and distributes equipment and supplies used in hospitals, surgery centers, acute care and other medical facilities in more than 125 countries. Medline’s vast array of products include surgical gowns, examination gloves and diagnostic equipment, as well as consumer-facing brands such as Curad bandages.
The investment is expected to be completed in late 2021 and is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
Following the transaction, the family would remain the single largest shareholder in the company after the buyout, and the management team would remain in place, the company said Saturday.