Telecommunications giant T-Mobile is buying Mint Mobile, a budget cell service provider, in a cash-and-stock deal worth $1.35 billion. It also includes Ultra Mobile, an international calling service, and wireless wholesaler Plum.
Hollywood celebrity Ryan Reynolds, who holds a minority ownership stake in Mint Mobile, will continue to be the face of the company on marketing fronts. “We are so happy T-Mobile beat out an aggressive last-minute bid from my mom Tammy Reynolds as we believe the excellence of their 5G network will provide a better strategic fit than my mom’s slightly-above-average mahjong skills,” the Deadpool actor said.
Mike Sievert, T-Mobile CEO, said the company would use its size and resources to supercharge Mint, which uses T-Mobile’s wireless network and offers plans for as little as $15 per month. “Over the long-term, we’ll also benefit from applying the marketing formula Mint has become famous for across more parts of T-Mobile.”
An official statement says the deal, which could be worth up to a maximum of $1.35 billion in a combination of 39 percent cash and 61 percent stock, will see T-Mobile bring the brands more directly into its operations. It highlighted that the exact sales price will be based upon Ka’ena’s performance during certain periods before and after the closing.
The deal will close later this year. T-Mobile plans to use its supplier relationships and distribution scale to help the brands to grow and offer competitive pricing and greater device inventory to consumers. It will set Mint and Ultra complementary to the carrier’s other prepaid options, including Metro by T-Mobile, T-Mobile’s own branded prepaid service, and its Connect by T-Mobile. Mike Katz, T-Mobile’s president of marketing, innovation and experience, said adding Mint and Ultra to its stable of brands allows the company to have more products and more variety to more customers, and have a kind of a proposition that works for everybody no matter what they’re looking for.
Mint Mobile was established in 2016 to deliver an affordable, premium wireless service, direct to consumers. David Glickman, Mint co-founder, said Mint’s rate plans haven’t changed and will not change going forward. Mint has been working to add value to its offerings by including more data or international calling at the same prices.
