mint
1.3 billion deal: Why Ryan Reynolds suddenly sold a company to T-Mobile
Ryan Reynolds at an event last year.
© Ron Adar/Shutterstock.com
Ryan Reynolds is known to most as an actor. But he is also an extremely busy businessman. His mobile phone provider Mint is now being sold at a lucrative rate.
He’s the pretty boy with the washboard abs and the big mouth: actor Ryan Reynolds has been a megastar since “Deadpool” at the latest. But the Canadian, known for his good looks and often goofy sense of humor, is also a pretty savvy investor. And is now selling one of his most successful companies to T-Mobile.
Because Reynolds invested differently than is usual with his colleagues. Mint Mobile is a very successful mobile phone discounter in the USA. “Celebrities otherwise invest in high-end products such as skin cream or delicious gin companies,” he quips in a statement. His decision to instead buy a share of a mobile phone provider is therefore “somewhat unconventional”.
Smart strategist
“I never dreamed of owning a cell phone provider. And I certainly never dreamed of selling it to T-Mobile,” Reynolds quipped on Twitter. “Life is strange and I’m incredibly proud and grateful.”
In fact, it may have been one of his best investments. Telekom’s US subsidiary, T-Mobile US, is paying $1.35 billion in cash and shares for its smaller competitor. According to a report by “Bloomberg”, Reynolds owned almost 25 percent of the company. So his share of the deal would be just under $340 million.
He earned even more in 2020 from the sale of his Aviation gin brand. The sale to the beverage group Diageo brought Reynolds a whopping $610 million into the coffers.
Investor and advertising face
The fact that the deal comes about is also due to Reynolds himself. With his entry into the provider, he also began to appear as its main advertising figure. In the campaigns developed by his marketing company Maximum Effort, he fully relied on his image as a prankster, boldly and unconventionally picking up current trends. And thus ensured that the small brand was quickly perceived as very cool.
To keep it that way, T-Mobile has also secured Reynolds himself: he should remain Mint’s advertising face under the new owners. The first foretaste of it was already there. In a video, CEO Mike Sievert welcomed Reynolds as “part of the family”: “I wouldn’t call that a family,” Reynolds complained cheekily as usual. “Family is a place for misguided hopes and dreams. I hope this turns out to be something much better.”
Sources: Ryan Reynolds, CNN, Bloomberg, Variety