Medline, 2025’s Biggest IPO, Jumps 41% in Trading Debut

Medline MDLN, a private equity-backed medical-surgical products provider, went public Tuesday in the largest IPO of the year, drawing strong investor demand.

The Northfield, Il.-based company raised $6.26 billion on the Nasdaq by issuing shares at $29 each, giving the company a valuation of more than $38 billion.

By the close of trading Wednesday, Medline stock had risen 41.3% from its IPO price to $41.

PitchBook analysts say private equity investors are increasingly willing to test the public markets, pointing to year-over-year growth in both the number of PE-backed IPOs in the US and the size of the companies coming to market.

Medline had initially planned to go public earlier this year but postponed its debut amid market volatility tied to US trade policy uncertainty and a government shutdown.

“Given the size and the amount of capital that Medline was able to raise today, I think it signals positive momentum on the private side,” said Keonhee Kim, a healthcare equity analyst at Morningstar.

From a revenue-generation perspective, Medline is well-positioned to continue growing at the steady pace it has delivered over the past several years, Kim says.

Medline supplies medical-surgical products and supply chain solutions to healthcare providers in over 100 countries and was acquired in 2021 by Blackstone, Carlyle, and Hellman & Friedman in a deal valued at $34 billion.

“An IPO of this size demonstrates the resiliency of the market and the return of a margin of safety to the equity market,” said Kim.