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T-Mobile is set to acquire Mint Mobile, a budget-friendly mobile carrier partially owned by actor Ryan Reynolds, for up to $1.35 billion. The deal is expected to close later this year and will involve a 39 percent cash and 61 percent stock purchase of Mint's parent company, Ka'ena Corporation, which includes other companies such as Ultra Mobile and Plum. Mint founders David Glickman and Rizwan Kassim will join T-Mobile to continue managing the brand, while Reynolds will remain as part of Mint's branding in his creative role.
T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert stated that Mint will operate as a separate business unit, and T-Mobile will retain the price of Mint's cheapest phone plan at $15 per month. T-Mobile, which sold Boost Mobile to Dish as part of its merger with Sprint, may be looking to regain the customers it lost through this acquisition. The purchase of Mint may also allow T-Mobile to apply Mint's marketing formula across more parts of its business, providing customers with more competitive and expansive options.
T-Mobile has confirmed that Ryan Reynolds will continue his creative role with the company and that the Mint Mobile brand will not be dropped following the acquisition. Reynolds, who owns approximately one quarter of the mobile company, is set to pocket around $300 million from the sale to T-Mobile, according to Fortune. The announcement was made in a short clip featuring T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert and Reynolds hugging to symbolize the joining of the two companies.
