First Data IPO (KKR-backed)
KKR brought payments processor First Data public after a leveraged buyout and years of debt overhang. The IPO was framed as a step toward reducing leverage and restoring flexibility.
The company gained access to public capital and visibility, but debt remained central.
First Data ultimately exited via a strategic deal, showing IPOs can be a waypoint.
Medline’s IPO similarly reads as a deleveraging-and-liquidity bridge, not an endpoint.
