Medline, a major medical supplies player, went public on the Nasdaq on Wednesday, marking the largest US IPO of 2025. Priced at $29, the share sale raised $6.26bn, valuing the company at over $37bn. The deal marks a turning point for Medline, long discreet despite its global scale. The stock has already risen 25%.
The listing comes amid a turbulent economic backdrop, between tariff tensions with China and domestic political gridlock. Despite this, the IPO market saw more than 200 listings in 2025, confirming solid momentum. CEO Jim Boyle said the flotation aims to boost Medline's visibility, which he calls "the biggest company nobody has heard of," even though it operates in more than 100 countries with a catalog of 335,000 medical products.
Controlled since 2021 by funds Blackstone, Carlyle and Hellman & Friedman following a record $34bn LBO, Medline remains heavily indebted, with $16.8bn as of end-September 2025. The company, which generated $25.5bn in net sales in 2024, expects an unfavorable impact of $150m to $200m on its 2026 earnings due to tariffs imposed on its Asian imports. In a highly competitive market, Medline must now convince investors of its ability to grow while absorbing these external pressures.
