T-Mobile to acquire most of US Cellular for $4.4 billion

Under the deal, T-Mobile will acquire all of U.S. Cellular’s wireless customers and stores

T-Mobile announced on Tuesday that it agreed to acquire “substantially all” of U.S. Cellular’s wireless operations in a deal valued at $4.4 billion.

Under the deal, T-Mobile will acquire all of U.S. Cellular’s wireless customers and stores. The deal also cover up to $2 billion in debt.

T-Mobile said the deal would “create a much-needed choice for wireless in areas with expensive and limited plans from AT&T and Verizon, and for those that have been limited to one or no options for home broadband connectivity.”

The deal is expected to close in mid-2025 following regulatory approvals, and shareholders are not expected to act on this deal, U.S. Cellular stated.

T-Mobile Chief Executive Officer Mike Sievert said customers of the two wireless carriers “will get more coverage and more capacity from our combined footprint.”

He added that it would force competitors to “keep up.”

Earlier this month, T-Mobile and Verizon were in competing talks to buy parts of U.S. Cellular, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal. Nonetheless, the talks with Verizon were not expected to result in an agreement, they said.

T-Mobile and US Cellular said the deal, which will face an antitrust review, will help deliver lower prices and provide faster wireless speeds to US Cellular’s customers, who live in primarily rural areas.

This is not the first time T-Mobile has joined hands with smaller players in the industry.

Earlier this month, T-Mobile completed the acquisition of Ka’ena Corporation, which owns direct-to-consumer prepaid wireless brands Mint Mobile and internationally-focused value brand Ultra Mobile.

In 2020, T-Mobile U.S. completed its merger with Sprint to create the New T-Mobile, which they advertised as “a supercharged Un-carrier that will deliver a transformative 5G network.”

In 2012, T-Mobile U.S. announced that it had acquired MetroPCS to create a “value leader.”