T-Mobile, the second largest wireless carrier in the U.S. announced on Wednesday it is buying prepaid wireless carrier Mint Mobile from parent company Ka’ena Corporation in a deal worth $1.35 billion. The acquisition will also include Ka’ena subsidiaries Ultra Mobile (another prepaid wireless service) and wireless wholesaler Plum.
In a press release, T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert said that “Mint has built an incredibly successful digital direct-to-consumer business that continues to deliver for customers… now we are excited to use our scale and owners’ economics to help supercharge it – and Ultra Mobile – into the future.”
Mint founders David Glickman and Rizwas Kassim will continue to work with the subsidiary by managing the brands under T-Mobile. Actor Ryan Reynolds became a partial owner of Mint Mobile in 2019 and holds roughly a 25% stake in the company. He will stay on as the company’s spokesperson.
“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,” Reynolds said in a release. “I am so proud of the entire Mint team and so excited for what’s to come.”
Although the company reported the approximate payout amount $1.35 billion, the final value of the deal is tied to Ka’ena’s performance before and after it closes, and consists of a combination of 39% in cash and 61% stock.
T-Mobile will reportedly keep Mint’s prices—currently $15 per month for unlimited talk and text and up to four GB of data per month—the same following closure of the deal.
This article is part of a developing story. Our writers and editors will be updating this page continuously as new information is released. Please check back again in a few minutes to see the latest updates. Meanwhile, if you want more news coverage, check out our tech, science, or io9 front pages. And you can always see the most recent Gizmodo news stories at gizmodo.com/latest.
