T-Mobile to acquire Mint Mobile

March 15 (UPI) -- T-Mobile announced Wednesday that it is acquiring Ka'ena Corporation and its subsidiaries Mint Mobile and Ultra Mobile.

T-Mobile said in a press release it will pay a maximum of $1.35 billion via a combination of 39% cash and 61% stock to buy Ka'ena.

"Mint has built an incredibly successful digital direct-to-customer business that continues to deliver for sutlers on the Un-carrier's leading 5G network, and now we are excited to use our scale and owners' economics to help supercharge it," said T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert.

T-Mobile is the second-largest wireless company in the United States, with over 110 million customers as of the end of 2022.

"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," said Mint Mobile founder and CEO David Glickman.

Glickman and Mint Mobile co-founder Rizwan Kassim will continue to the brands as a "separate business unit" under T-Mobile, the company said.

Sievert said Mint Mobile will also maintain its $15 per month pricing following the acquisition.

Mint Mobile's success has been personified by its spokesperson and partial owner, actor Ryan Reynolds, who is believed to own between 20% and 25% of the company. Reynolds has cast family members and friends in Mint Mobile commercials where they playfully take shots at each other.

Reynolds, who will continue as the spokesperson for Mint Mobile, appeared in a video alongside Sievert, announcing the deal.

"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 skill," Reynolds said.