Private equity firms in deal to acquire Medline for about $34 billion

A consortium of private equity firms has reached a deal — reportedly worth about $34 billion — to acquire family-run Medline, the medical supply and equipment company announced Saturday.

 

The leveraged buyout’s value was reported by The Wall Street Journal, which said the acquiring firms — Blackstone Group, Carlyle Group and Hellman & Friedman LLC — had beat out a rival bid from Brookfield Asset Management, a Canadian investing firm.

 

Based in Northfield, Illinois, Medline is the biggest private US manufacturer and distributor of medical supplies like medical gloves, gowns and exam tables to hospitals and doctor’s offices. The company is run by the billionaire Mills family: Chief Executive Officer Charlie Mills, his cousin Andy Mills, who is president, and Chief Operating Officer Jim Abrams, who is Charlie’s brother-in-law.

 

Charlie and Andy took the reins in 1997 from their respective fathers, Jim and Jon Mills. Those brothers founded the company in 1966, taking inspiration from their grandfather who helped sew gowns for surgeons at a hospital in Chicago before World War I.

 

Medline said in a statement that the company will continue to be privately held and led by the family of Charlie Mills, the chief executive officer, and that it will remain the largest single shareholder.

 

At least eight buyout firms had last month been preparing offers for the company, some lured by the prospect of getting the first shot at slashing costs and maximising profits at a massive company in Medline that’s never been touched by another buyout firm.

 

It said the entire senior management team will remain in place. Medline, with 28,000 employees worldwide, said it had revenue of $17.5 billion in 2020.

 

It said it would use the new investment to accelerate international expansion and strengthen its global supply chain.