According to Bloomberg, T-Mobile is reportedly in talks with Mint Mobile to acquire the company. Neither T-Mobile nor Mint Mobile has yet reacted to this news.
Mint Mobile was founded in 2016 as a MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) and 25% of it was later sold to actor Ryan Reynolds. In recent years, Reynolds has leveraged his fame to promote Mint Mobile as a replacement for giant US mobile operators like T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T. Reynolds has 47 million followers on Instagram and 21 million followers on Twitter.
The Bloomberg report also offers no detail about the possible acquisition that might show parties are still busy with early talks. Since Mint Mobile is a novice mobile operator, talks should take a little time. The acquisition might be completed in the coming months.
Mint Mobile is currently using the T-Mobile network
It’s obvious that Mint Mobile can’t compete with giant telecom companies like T-Mobile, and if it wants to stay in business, it should be part of a greater company. Additionally, Mint doesn’t have an exclusive 4G LTE or 5G service network and uses T-Mobile infrastructure.
Mint itself is also a part of a great company called Ultra Mobile. It remains to be seen whether T-Mobile is interested in buying Mint and Ultra altogether. T-Mobile also needs to decide whether Mint Mobile can preserve its brand or it will continue operating as a sub-brand like Metro by T-Mobile.
In the coming weeks, we’ll hear more details about the acquisition. More specifically, the price that T-Mobile is ready to pay to wrap up the deal. Back in 2021, Verizon paid $6 billion to acquire Tracfone and later launched the Total by Verizon brand.
T-Mobile is currently the second-largest US mobile service provider and is one of the leaders in 5G development across the country. However, the company has recently decided to shut down some of its retail stores and lay off employees following the uncompromising vision of the US economy for 2023.