Blackstone, The Carlyle Group, Hellman & Friedman and GIC (Singapore Sovereign Wealth Fund) purchased Medline with a valuation of over $30 billion including approximately 50% of debt; the biggest LBO since the financial crisis. Medline plans to make operational improvements and grow revenue by creating new products and expanding internationally, while also cutting costs by using the capital to invest in global supply chain improvement. 

With the COVID-19 pandemic, it is likely that Medline faced unique capital outlays due to a surge in demand for its products. The Mills family prided themselves on taking little to no debt but the changes brought on with the pandemic may have caused the family to accept the private equity investments and take on debt in the company. Perhaps we will see a similar trend in other family owned companies as a result of the pandemic.