T-Mobile scoops up Mint Mobile after regulators decide the deal won’t kill tele-competition
“Chimichanga” in 7 languages… Mint Mobile, the cheeky telecom co owned partly by Ryan Reynolds, is now officially owned by T-Mobile. The deal includes Mint Mobile parent Ka’ena Corp. and its other wireless brands, Ultra Mobile and Plum (call it the MMCU). Reynolds is expected to score $300M+ from the ~$1.4B takeover and plans to stay on with Mint in a creative capacity. So, yeah, there’s still hope to get another voicemail from “Deadpool.”
On hold: T-Mobile announced it was buying Mint Mobile last spring, and getting approval has taken longer than execs expected.
Dialed: The FCC finally gave T-Mobile the green light when the telecom titan agreed to make it easier for Mint and Ultra users to switch networks within a 60-day period.
Networking it out… Critics of the deal said the telecom giant getting giant-er would be bad for competition. T-Mobile’s the US’s No. 2 phone-service provider by subscribers, alongside AT&T and Verizon (recall: it acquired Sprint for $30B in 2020). The tri-opoly of 5G control has raised privacy concerns. Major telcos have had massive data leaks, and the FCC this week fined them hundreds of millions, alleging they illegally shared user data. Defenders of T-Mobile’s minty takeover said that Mint’s biz consists of reselling T-Mobile service on repackaged plans. In other words: T-Mobile isn’t expected to gain many new subs from the deal.
Prepare the hold music for M&A… Deals are taking a long time to get regulatory approval, especially in industries dominated by a handful of players. It took Microsoft 20 months to complete its acquisition of Activision Blizzard last year, while Kroger’s still waiting for approval to add Albertsons to its cart. Others aren’t making it past the scrutiny stage: JetBlue’s bid to buy Spirit was grounded.