Medline Industries confidentially filed a proposed initial public offering with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the offering have not been determined, the medical device company said Dec. 19.
The IPO could be valued at up to $50 billion, according to Bloomberg and Reuters.
Founded in 1966, Medline began as a garment company and went public between 1972 and 1977. It now employs more than 38,000 people globally and sells about 355,000 med-surg products to hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, physician offices and other healthcare providers.