Blackstone offers to take Team Health private in $3.4B bid

Blackstone is spending $3.4 billion for Team Health Holdings and will take the staffing company private.

The private equity firm will pay $43.50 in cash for each share. That more than a 30 percent premium to the stock's price in early October before reports of a possible sale began to surface. Counting debt, the detail totals $6.1 billion.

The deal is expected to close in next year's first quarter, but Team Health shareholders still need to approve it. The offer includes a 40-day window in which Team Health can shop for a better deal.

Team Health Holdings Inc., based in Knoxville, Tennessee, provides staffing and administrative services for health care companies in 47 states. Its shares soared more than 15 percent before the opening bell Monday.