Ryan Reynolds Flush With Cash After His Company Was Acquired by T-Mobile in $1.35 Billion Deal

Ryan Reynolds just struck a billion-dollar deal, which is serious business for an ordinary business person. But Reynolds is no ordinary business person.

Mint Mobile, the wireless firm that counts Reynolds as a minority owner, has been acquired by wireless giant T-Mobile in a deal that could value the startup firm at $1.35 billion. Though the actual payout will depend on the performance of the brands before and after the deal closes, it has been reported by The Hollywood Reporter that T-Mobile will pay the deal in 39 percent cash and 61 percent stock.

“Mint Mobile is the best deal in wireless and today’s news only enhances our ability to deliver for our customers,” Reynolds said in a statement on Wednesday. Ryan, in his well-known ironic style, joked, “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. I am so proud of the entire Mint team and so excited for what’s to come.”

In addition to Mint, T-Mobile is also acquiring Ultra Mobile, which is geared toward providing international calling options to customers, as well as Plum, a wireless wholesaler. All three companies were owned by Ka’ena Corp, and founders David Glickman and Rizwan Kassim will run the company as its own business unit. Under the terms of the deal, Reynolds will continue to work in his creative role for Mint. The actor has long appeared in commercials for the wireless brand, featuring his distinctive sense of humor.

In a statement, T-Mobile CEO, Mike Sievert, said that he hopes to bring that formula to the larger company. “Over the long-term, we’ll also benefit from applying the marketing formula Mint has become famous for across more parts of T-Mobile,” he said. “We think customers are really going to win with a more competitive and expansive Mint and Ultra.”

The deal comes about two and a half years after beverage company Diageo acquired Ryan's spirit brand Aviation American Gin for up to $610 million through its Davos Brands portfolio acquisition, with him retaining an ownership interest in the gin organization.

Reynolds will next be seen in the fantasy comedy If. The John Krasinski directorial also stars Krasinski, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Fiona Shaw, Cailey Fleming, Bobby Moynihan, Louis Gossett Jr., and Steve Carell. It will release on May 24, 2024.

Reynolds will also return as the Merc With a Mouth in Deadpool 3. The Shawn Levy directorial will bring back Hugh Jackman in the role of Wolverine. Levy, who is using a script penned by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, told Collider last year that the violence in the movie is "in your face and hardcore."

“We are writing, rewriting, developing and prepping Deadpool every day now. It is such a blast to laugh at every day. It is so delicious to hear and write and come up with these scenes where people are just talking foul. And the violence is in your face and hardcore, and it's very much a Deadpool movie. And it has Logan in it. And it has Wolverine in it. It's too fun. I'm having so much fun, and I haven't even hit the shooting floor yet... I have to say, developing a Deadpool movie is one of the most fun creative experiences of my life because it's not just that it's rated R. It's that it's so filled with self-awareness, and that makes in-writing very, very fun in a way that is unique to that franchise," he said. Deadpool 3 is set to release on November 8, 2024.