T-Mobile has entered into an agreement to acquire Ka’ena Corporation, the parent company of Ryan Reynolds’ prepaid wireless service Mint Mobile, international wireless service Ultra Mobile and wholesaler Plum, for a maximum of up to $1.35 billion in a combination of 39 % cash and 61% stock.
Under the deal, T-Mobile is acquiring the brands’ sales, marketing, digital, and service operations. It plans to use its supplier relationships and distribution scale to “help the brands to grow and offer competitive pricing and greater device inventory to more US consumers seeking value offerings.” It will also leverage Mint’s direct to consumer marketing expertise to reach new customer segments and geographies.
“Over the long-term, we’ll also benefit from applying the marketing formula Mint has become famous for across more parts of T-Mobile. We think customers are really going to win with a more competitive and expansive Mint and Ultra,” T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert added.
Mint and Ultra will be “complementary” to T-Mobile’s other prepaid options, which include Metro by T-Mobile, T-Mobile’s own branded prepaid service and its Connect by T-Mobile brand.
The actual price paid by T-Mobile will be based upon Ka’ena’s performance during certain periods before and after the closing and is subject to “working capital adjustments and other contractual reserves.”
The transaction, which is subject to the satisfaction of closing conditions, is expected to close later this year and be “slightly accretive” to T-Mobile’s core Adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow.
T-Mobile does not currently expect the transaction to have any impact on the company’s 2023 guidance or its ongoing stock repurchase program.
Following the deal’s closing, Mint’s founders David Glickman and Rizwan Kassim will remain onboard at T-Mobile to manage the brands, which will generally operate as a separate business unit.
“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,” Glickman said. “This transaction validates our meteoric success and will unite two proven industry innovators committed to doing things differently in the wireless industry.”
Owner Ryan Reynolds will continue on in his creative role on behalf of Mint.
“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” star joked in a statement. “I am so proud of the entire Mint team and so excited for what’s to come.”
Reference-www.thewrap.com
