T-Mobile is In Talks with Ryan Reynolds' Mint Mobile for Possible Acquisition

T-Mobile US Inc. has been considering acquiring the prepaid carrier owned in part by actor Ryan Reynolds, Mint Mobile. The company has long been rumored to be up for sale.

(Photo : Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, VA - AUGUST 18: A T-Mobile retail store on August 18, 2021 in Arlington, Virginia. T-Mobile announced Wednesday that a data breach exposed the personal information of 7.8 million current customers and 40 million people who had applied for credit.

Acquiring Mint Mobile

T-Mobile is the second largest mobile service provider in the United States. As the company enters a new year, several acquisitions are being considered by the company for business growth. This includes Mint Mobile.

Mint Mobile is owned in part by actor Ryan Reynolds and was introduced as the budget wireless provider compared to larger telecom companies like AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile.

The budget provider company is a division of Ultra Mobile and has long been rumored to be up for sale. As per Bloomberg's report, T-Mobile is currently discussing with the company regarding a potential acquisition.

If the acquisition became successful, the brand of Mint Mobile could potentially change to 'Mint by T-Mobile', as previously acquired companies of the company changed it into that like 'Metro by T-Mobile'.

No confirmation whether Ultra Mobile would also be sold alongside Mint Mobile and if T-Mobile was only interested in the division company. Both telecommunication companies did not release a statement regarding this matter and both did not respond to comment, as per CNET.

In 2019, Reynolds became a part-owner of Mint Mobile and currently owns about ¼ of the company. The actor starred in different television and social media advertisements, which gave the company exposure to his 21 million Twitter followers and 47 million Instagram followers.

T-Mobile's Other Expansions

Last November 2022, T-Mobile expanded its 5G Home Internet services as their broadband tier includes an additional 70 new cities. Doing this solved the problem of millions of households not having access to broadband internet.

5G Home Internet service costs $50 per month. Users who are enrolled in the Magenta Max phone plan will have $20 off for the broadband service every month. This would also allow new customers to try this tier for free within 15 days.

This move from the company is not surprising as T-Mobile released a study that shows that Home Internet products have been making a huge impact on the market. The company stated that they were able to garner over two million customers for this tier.

T-Mobile Chief Marketing Officer Mike Katz stated, "Fixed wireless is disrupting a historically broken broadband industry, offering choice and competition at a time when consumers need it most."

In 2020, T-Mobile completed a merger with Sprint as they both committed to building the best broad and deep nationwide 5G network. This gained the company a one-year lead in 5G service among rivals like AT&T and Verizon Communications.

By acquiring Mint Mobile, T-Mobile may also have a plan on expanding its services to have an advantage in the market.