Medline Industries Eyes $50 Billion IPO as Global Medtech Giant, Backed by Chinese Suppliers

The IPO of the Medical Device Giant Is Here!

In the 2025 Global Top 100 Medical Device Companies ranking, Medline Industries ranked third, trailing only Medtronic and Johnson & Johnson. Recently, the company has been rumored to be planning an IPO in November.

According to reports, Medline has refiled its draft initial public offering (IPO) prospectus with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The company’s valuation could exceed $50 billion, with fundraising targets of $4–5 billion, making it the largest IPO in the medical device industry this year. It may also become the largest IPO in the United States this year. According to insiders, the public filing could occur as early as late October, with plans to list publicly by the end of November.

Currently, Medline manufactures and distributes more than 100,000 products, including those for wound care, skin care, anesthesia, gloves, urology, incontinence management, ostomy care, durable medical equipment, and infection prevention.

Behind the world’s largest medical device distributor stand numerous Chinese medical device companies. Medline is the largest customer for many listed Chinese manufacturers of low-value consumables, with suppliers including Zhende Medical, Aomei Medical, Shangrong Medical, Jianerkang, Caina Shares, and Jieli Kang. Previously, Ai Shelun Medical, which sought an IPO on the Beijing Stock Exchange, derived more than 60% of its revenue from Medline.

Medline Achieves $25.5 Billion in Sales in 2024: How Did It Become the World’s Third-Largest Medical Device Company Through Its Low-Value Consumables Business?

Medline manufactures and sells over 100,000 medical products, offering a comprehensive range of surgical products and the largest textile product line in the healthcare industry. Its primary operating brands are Medline and Curad. The company distributes its products directly to hospitals worldwide, with 90% of its revenue derived from the United States. Its premium wound care and skin care products hold a dominant position in the U.S. hospital market. Approximately half of Medline’s revenue comes from its private-label products, while the other half stems from distributed third-party products.

Medline’s story begins with a century-spanning dedication to the industry.

Medline was established in the United States in 1966, with its history dating back to 1910. Medline is a family-owned business; in 1910, A.L. Mills, the grandfather of Medline’s founder, established a garment factory that produced aprons for the Chicago Union Stock Yards.

In 1912, A.L. Mills founded Mills Hospital Supply Company, expanding its business into surgical gowns and nurse uniforms, thereby formally entering the healthcare sector. The second generation, Irving Mills, took over in 1924 and subsequently expanded the business into the distribution of general medical supplies. The third generation, Jim and John Mills, assumed leadership in 1961, and Medline was officially established in 1966. The fourth generation, Jim Abrams, took over in 1997.

Medline Continues to Launch Innovative Products, Addressing Clinical Pain Points.In 1940, the company launched the industry’s first colored surgical scrubs to reduce eye strain for surgeons and operating room staff. In 1999, it introduced the industry’s first examination gloves with an aloe vera coating to better protect the skin on hands. In 2009, the company released the industry’s first single-layer urinary catheter to lower the risk of infection. In 2011, it unveiled the world’s first wheelchair with an antimicrobial protective layer; in the same year, its antimicrobial face mask became the first FDA-approved antimicrobial mask to reach the market.

In the low-value consumables industry, a comprehensive product portfolio, channel management, and cost control are key to competitiveness.The low-value consumables sector encompasses a wide array of niche products, each with a relatively small market size; therefore, companies must adopt a multi-product-line strategy to scale their revenue. Additionally, given the large number of market participants and the high degree of product homogenization, cost control is critical for enterprises.

Thus, while Medline is aggressively expanding its product portfolio and continuously entering new niche segments and markets, it is also strengthening its supply chain management capabilities by vertically integrating its global supply chain and establishing a dual-track supply system comprising “in-house production + OEM contract manufacturing.”

Low-value consumables have a fragmented end-customer base, requiring companies to establish extensive sales channels.Therefore, while expanding its product categories, Medline has also extended its reach into downstream channels. Medline further provides supply chain and logistics services, leveraging its robust distribution centers and truck fleet to ensure next-day delivery to the majority of its U.S. customer base.

Leveraging its deep presence in the U.S. market, combined with a global procurement and production network, Medline has gradually grown into the world’s third-largest medical device company. Unlike Medtronic and Johnson & Johnson, which focus on high-value devices, Medline centers its strategy on low-value consumables, building competitive barriers through a differentiated “products + services” model.

In recent years, the company has consistently strengthened its pipeline through strategic acquisitions: in 2019, it acquired AngioDynamics’ fluid management business for $167.5 million, and in 2021, it integrated Teleflex’s respiratory business for $286 million, further enriching its product portfolio.

In 2021, Medline began seeking a sale and restructuring. That same year, it was acquired by a consortium of private equity firms, including Blackstone, Carlyle, and Hellman & Friedman, for $34 billion.

Medline controls a critical supply chain within the U.S. healthcare system, providing sustained momentum for its performance growth. Over the past 50 years, Medline has achieved double-digit growth in all but one year, with sales reaching $25.5 billion in 2024.

Currently, Medline’s core strategy focuses on three key directions: first, upgrading service capabilities by establishing new distribution and manufacturing centers in the United States and enhancing IT service capabilities; second, strengthening its market position through acquisitions and achieving vertical integration in niche segments; and third, bolstering supply chain resilience through diversification.

As the world’s third-largest medical device company, Medline’s development trajectory is closely intertwined with the globalization of China’s medical device industry chain.

As early as 1997, Medline began collaborating with Chinese enterprises. Since the 1990s, driven by rising labor costs in developed countries, Medline has gradually shifted the production of traditional wound care products—such as gauze and bandages, which are labor-intensive and low in technological content—to China, Southeast Asia, South America, and other regions and countries. Meanwhile, it has retained research and development (R&D) and marketing functions, selling its products under its own brand in the market.

Leveraging its advantages in labor costs and industrial chain integration, China has absorbed this wave of industrial transfer, gradually fostering a cohort of medical dressing manufacturers primarily focused on exports and engaged in original equipment manufacturing (OEM) for major international brands. Notable examples include Allmed Medical, Zhende Medical, and Winner Medical.

Amid this wave of industrial transfer, Medline has become a major client for many leading domestic medical dressing companies.Domestic partners include Shangrong Medical, Jianerkang, Allmed Medical, Zhende Medical, and Pu’ang Medical. Medline’s collaboration model with Chinese enterprises is primarily based on ODM/OEM contract manufacturing. Allmed Medical has maintained a business partnership with Medline since 1997. According to Allmed Medical’s prospectus, Medline was its largest customer in 2016, with transaction volume reaching RMB 430 million.

Amid the tariff landscape, the global supply chain for low-value medical consumables is undergoing profound restructuring. Establishing overseas production capacity has become a key strategic focus for Chinese enterprises. Domestic medical dressing manufacturers are increasingly setting up factories abroad to reduce costs and mitigate tariff risks through global manufacturing footprints.

Zhende Medical Accelerates Construction of Production Bases in Africa and Mexico; African Facility Completed and Commenced Operations in 2024Zhende Medical stated that its overseas production base layout will further enhance the company’s competitiveness in the international market, better meet the diversified supply chain needs of global customers, deepen strategic cooperation with clients—particularly core customers in Europe and the United States—and secure greater opportunities and market share in the international arena.

Allmed Medical chooses to invest in Indonesia. In 2025, Allmed Medical invested in Indonesia to build a high-tech medical device factory worth $100 million. The project plans to construct modern production facilities, logistics centers, and supporting infrastructure, focusing on the manufacturing of high-end medical protective products and non-woven fabrics. The factory is expected to be completed and commence operations in April 2026.

While Medline leverages its IPO proceeds to upgrade its industrial chain, Chinese enterprises are not remaining confined to OEM contract manufacturing; instead, they are exploring consumer-facing businesses, high-end medical dressings, and diversification. Allmed Medical Care actively develops its proprietary brands, focusing on two core segments in the domestic market: medical dressings and hygiene and care products for mothers and infants. Currently, the company has established a tripartite business model encompassing dressings, consumer products, and OEM services. Zhende Medical has transitioned from OEM operations to building its own brands, driven by a dual strategy of “Medical + Health.” It has now formed six major product categories: basic medical dressings, operating room infection control, compression therapy and fixation, ostomy and chronic wound care, home healthcare, and personal protective equipment.

As a major overseas buyer of Chinese low-value medical consumables, Medline has deeply integrated its supply chain with domestic manufacturers in this sector. Amid the ongoing restructuring of the global medical device industry chain, characterized by complex and dynamic changes, only by thoroughly understanding and proactively adapting to these shifts can new opportunities be seized amidst the transformation.

References:

Zhende Medical Prospectus

Huachuang Medical Devices Quest Series 1: Can Giants Emerge in the Low-Value Consumables Sector? — Huachuang Securities