T-Mobile acquires Mint, part-owned by Ryan Reynolds

Mint Mobile, partly owned by actor Ryan Reynolds, is being acquired by T-Mobile in a cash and stock deal worth up to $1.35 billion.

The purchase of Ka’ena Corp. by T-Mobile will give him access to inexpensive wireless provider Mint, as well as Ultra Mobile and wholesaler Plum. The brands, which already use T-Mobile for their network, will be managed as a separate business unit.

“I never dreamed of owning a wireless business and certainly never dreamed of selling it to T-Mobile,” Reynolds said in a tweet. “Life is strange and I’m incredibly proud and grateful.”

The US mobile operator announced on Wednesday that it was buying the brands’ sales, marketing, digital and services businesses. It plans to use its vendor relationships and scale of distribution to help grow the brands and bring competitive pricing and a larger inventory of devices to more U.S. consumers looking for low-cost deals. cost.

T-Mobile US Inc. said Mint and Ultra Mobile are complementary to its existing prepaid services, Metro by T-Mobile, T-Mobile branded prepaid and Connect by T-Mobile.

T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert said the company plans to give Mint’s already successful direct-to-consumer digital business a boost.

“Over the long term, we will also benefit from applying the marketing formula that Mint has become famous for in more parts of T-Mobile,” Sievert said. “We think customers will really win with a more competitive and expansive Mint and Ultra.

Mint founders David Glickman and Rizwan Kassim will remain with T-Mobile after the transaction is complete to manage the brands. Reynolds, meanwhile, will remain in his creative role for Mint.

The actual price of the transaction will depend on the performance of Ka’ena Corp. during certain periods before and after closing. The transaction is expected to close later this year.

Bellevue, Wash.-based T-Mobile became one of the nation’s largest mobile carriers in 2020 after buying rival Sprint.