Leading international law firm McDermott Will & Emery provided Medline Industries, Inc. with strategic healthcare regulatory counsel in the sale of the majority of its equity to a consortium of private equity firms led by Blackstone, Carlyle and Hellman & Friedman. McDermott’s team of transactions and healthcare lawyers prepared and guided the Medline team through a rigorous and expedited due diligence review conducted by the various bidders. The transaction, announced on June 5, 2021, is valued at more than $30 billion and is the largest leveraged buyout since the financial crisis.

Medline is the largest privately-held manufacturer and distributor of healthcare supplies in the United States, and following the close of the transaction, Medline will remain a privately held, family-led company. 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.

Medline partners with healthcare providers around the world, delivering products and solutions that reduce costs, increase supply chain efficiency, and improve the quality of care. The breadth of the company’s product portfolio and its dedication to customer service, responsiveness, and partnership provide significant value for its customers.

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC acted as lead financial advisor and BDT & Company, LLC acted as financial advisor. Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz acted as lead legal advisor to Medline.

The McDermott team was led by Byron Kalogerou and included James Cannatti, Jiayan Chen, Rebecca Dufur, David Gacioch, Jana Grieb, James Kim, Brian Long, Tony Maida, Brian Malkin, Anisa Mohanty, Romain Perray, Amy Pimentel, Joan Polacheck, Mac Routh and Danielle Scheer.

McDermott Will & Emery is the nation’s leading health law firm. The Health Industry Advisory group is the only health practice to receive top national rankings from U.S. News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms,” Chambers USA, The Legal 500 US and Law360. The practice was also recognized by Chambers as “Health Team of the Year” in 2010, 2013, 2017 and 2019. McDermott has also held the top spot in PitchBook’s League Tables as the most active firm for healthcare private equity since 2017. Pitchbook also ranked McDermott #3 in PE in the US and #5 in PE globally.

McDermott Will & Emery partners with leaders around the world to fuel missions, knock down barriers and shape markets. Our team works seamlessly across practices and industries to deliver highly effective—and often unexpected solutions that propel success. More than 1,200 lawyers strong, we bring our personal passion and legal prowess to bear in every matter for our clients and the people they serve.