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The magenta giant has pledged to ‘supercharge’ the Mint Mobile brand while retaining the marketing bite of celebrity owner Ryan Reynolds

T-Mobile is set to purchase Ka’ena Corporation, the parent company of prepaid mobile virtual network operator Mint Mobile.

The Uncarrier will pay up to $1.35 billion for the company, with final amount varying based on Ka’ena’s performance during certain periods both before and after the deal closes. The sum will be paid in a combination of cash and shares.

The deal also includes the Ultra Mobile, a brand focussed on enabling cost-effective international  calls, and the wireless wholesaler Plum.

“Mint has built an incredibly successful digital direct-to-consumer business that continues to deliver for customers on the Un-carrier’s leading 5G network and now we are excited to use our scale and owners’ economics to help supercharge it – and Ultra Mobile – into the future,” said Mike Sievert, CEO of T-Mobile. “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.”

Following the acquisition, T-Mobile says that Mint will continue to operate largely as an independent business, headed up by Mint co-founders David Glickman and Rizwan Kassim. T-Mobile also says it will retain the company’s $15 per month price point.

Mint Mobile was formally put up for sale back in 2021, at which time it was rumoured to be worth between $600 million and $800 million. Numerous companies were hinted at as potential suitors, perhaps most notably Altice USA.

However, reports that T-Mobile was interested in acquiring the company, only surfaced at the start of the year.

Mint has seen a meteoric rise to prominence in recent years, helped in no small part by the advertising prowess of movie star owner Ryan Reynolds, who took a 20–25% stake in Mint back in 2019 for an undisclosed sum.

Since then, he has starred in numerous adverts for the company, something that will presumably continue under the company’s new ownership.

“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,” said Reynolds in a statement.

The deal is expected to close later this year following the typical regulatory oversight.

How is the US connectivity landscape changing in 2023? Join the debate next week at the Connected America conference live in Dallas!

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Ericsson IoT Accelerator to manage the connectivity for Lyft e-bikes and scooters
Spring Equinox? It seems Ofcom aren’t certain of the balance

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An Openreach statement issued today announced a delay in the expected launch of Equinox 2 pricing which they had claimed would support customers, with lower prices and “long-term certainty to help them switch to faster, more reliable broadband connections”.

Today’s statement from Openreach said “Whilst we continue to share Ofcom’s initial view that our offer isn’t anti-competitive, it’s important the regulator has time to consider all the feedback it has received fully and fairly, so our discounted Full Fibre prices won’t come into effect on April 1.”

This was a response to Ofcom’s message to the market: “To provide certainty and stability for industry, our view is that it would not be appropriate for the offer to launch until we issue our final decision.”

The change of heart from Ofcom seems at least in part to have been driven by comments from Philip Jansen, CEO of BT Group in an interview with the Financial Times where he claimed “There is only going to be one national network” and questioned the need for multiple providers.

Controversially the article was headlined “BT chief warns Openreach fibre push will ‘end in tears’ for rivals”
Today’s announcement will in particular please the altnets who were claiming via INCA that Equinox2 was putting £25 billion of investment into the UK full fibre infrastructure at risk. INCA CEO, Malcolm Corbett had said that the early decision by Ofcom had shown complete disregard for the “many smaller market entrants and the billions of pounds invested in those networks”.

Quite the bombshell from @Ofcom this morning. I’ll do a write up of my thoughts later today, but one thing that jumped out to me, was the line “we will be vigilant to ensure that all involved stick to the letter and *spirit* of the rules”. That’s new. 1/2

— Tim Creswick (@TimCreswick) March 17, 2023

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Amongst the comments on the decision was Tim Creswick, CEO and Founder of Vorboss who took to Twitter describing the decision as “Quite the bombshell” whilst CityFibre CEO, Greg Mesch, commented “Ofcom appears to be taking industry’s concerns seriously. Taking more time to properly consider the impact of Equinox 2 is the right approach if UK consumers and businesses are to benefit from a healthy competitive market for the long term.”

Hear more about investment in UK full fibre infrastructure by joining us at Connected North, taking place in Manchester on 17 – 18 April 2023