T-Mobile acquires Mint Mobile, keeps Ryan Reynolds in creative role

The carrier best known for its prepaid cellular services and its affiliation with actor Ryan Reynolds — Mint Mobile — is getting new management. T-Mobile has made a deal to acquire Mint Mobile’s parent company, which could total up to $1.35 billion.

On Wednesday, T-Mobile announced its plans to bring the Ka’ena Corporation under its wing. With the deal, all of Ka’ena’s brands, which include Mint Mobile, Ultra Mobile, and Plum, will now be a part of T-Mobile. However, T-Mobile and Ka’ena will continue to largely remain separate entities.

The move to acquire Mint Mobile and Ultra Mobile — carriers that already run on T-Mobile’s network — is meant to help T-Mobile build out its own prepaid offerings. At a maximum, the deal could be worth up to $1.35 billion, which T-Mobile plans to pay with “a combination of 39% cash and 61% stock.” However, the actual cost will be dependent on the performance of Ka’ena Corporation before and after the deal is closed.

In regards to the deal, co-founder and CEO of Mint, Ultra, and Plum, David Glickman, had this to say:

Our brands have thrived on the T-Mobile network, and we are thrilled that this agreement will take them even further, bringing the many benefits of 5G to even more Americans. This transaction validates our meteoric success and will unite two proven industry innovators committed to doing things differently in the wireless industry.

Once the deal is done, both of Mint Mobile’s founders — David Glickman and Rizwan Kassim — are expected to stay and manage the brands. As for part owner Ryan Reynolds, he is expected to maintain his current creative marketing role as a spokesman for Mint Mobile.

Will this acquisition have an effect on Mint, Ultra, or Plum’s current plans? It looks like we’ll have to wait to see what happens.