Does Ryan Reynolds Still Own Mint Mobile?

If you've watched any ad-supported TV or streaming content in the past few years, chances are you've caught at least one commercial for Mint Mobile featuring movie star Ryan Reynolds. What you may not have known (although he usually mentions it in his ads) is that Reynolds is not just the face of Mint Mobile, he's also part owner. However, that's due to change with a massive deal recently announced that will see ownership of the wireless carrier switch hands.

Mint Mobile was founded in 2016 by David Glickman and offers wireless plans at a lower price than major carriers like AT&T and Verizon, in part by avoiding the overhead costs of retail stores or building its own network. Rather, Mint runs on T-Mobile's cellular network. This way, it can offer its customers plans as low as $15 per month and unlimited data plans for $30 per month. Canadian-born actor Ryan Reynolds, who has starred in "Deadpool," "Waiting," "Red Notice," and many other blockbuster films, purchased around 25% of the company in 2019. Since then, he has prominently starred in popular ads for Mint, including one that recently went viral after being completely written by ChatGPT.

Many celebrities will diversify their wealth by investing in non-Hollywood companies, but Reynolds' choice seemed unconventional at the time. "Celebrities generally invest in high-end products like skincare brands or delicious gin companies," Reynolds said at the time of his purchase. "I'm excited to champion a more practical approach to the most essential technology." It should be noted that Reynolds did indeed also buy a gin company that later sold for $610 million. And his gambit to buy a mobile network looks to give the actor another big payday, as T-Mobile announced plans in March to purchase Mint Mobile.

For T-Mobile, buying Mint is a logical choice. Larger corporations often absorb smaller ones in the same industry, and the two companies already have a close relationship due to Mint's usage of T-Mobile's cellular network. T-Mobile previously bought major mobile carrier Sprint in a merger that was completed in 2020, and is currently the second largest wireless carrier in the U.S., with only Verizon having more than T-Mobile's 110 million subscribers.

T-Mobile plans to keep Mint as its own separate business, with founders David Glickman and Rizwan Kassim remaining to oversee the brand. Its low-cost pricing models will remain as well. While T-Mobile hopes to use its scale and influence to grow Mint's customer base, it also looks to tap into Mint's successful marketing strategy. "Mint has built an incredibly successful digital direct-to-consumer business that continues to deliver for customers on the Un-carrier's leading 5G network," said T-Mobile CEO, Mike Sievert. "Over the long-term, we'll also benefit from applying the marketing formula Mint has become famous for across more parts of T-Mobile."

Ryan Reynolds is a key part of that marketing formula and will keep a creative role at the company. But when the deal finalizes, likely later this year, Reynolds will cede ownership and possibly make up to $300 million in the acquisition. T-Mobile is expected to pay up to $1.35 billion, in a combination of cash and stock, to acquire Ka'ena Corporation, the parent company of Mint, international carrier Ultra Mobile, and wholesaler Plum. While he's certainly making lots of money from the deal, Reynolds says it's also a positive move for Mint's customers: "Today's news only enhances our ability to deliver for our customers. We are so happy T-Mobile beat out an aggressive last-minute bid from my mom Tammy Reynolds."