T-Mobile will buy most of U.S. Cellular’s operations in a deal valued at $4.4 billion, both companies announced Tuesday, the latest billion-dollar transaction by the wireless carrier as it expands coverage to millions of more customers.
The wireless carrier will assume billions of dollars in debt as part of the transaction.
The deal will include a combination of cash and about $2 billion in assumed debt, T-Mobile and U.S. Cellular said in a joint statement.
T-Mobile will acquire about 30% of U.S. Cellular’s wireless spectrum as part of the deal, improving and expanding coverage for customers in rural areas, while U.S. Cellular will keep the remaining 70% to “opportunistically monetize these retained assets,” according to the statement.
U.S. Cellular customers can keep their current wireless plans or switch to a plan offered by T-Mobile, the companies said, adding U.S. Cellular will lease about 2,100 cellphone towers to T-Mobile.
Integrating U.S. Cellular’s operations into T-Mobile’s business will cost between $2.2 billion and $2.6 billion, T-Mobile said in a separate statement.
The transaction is expected to close in mid-2025 pending regulatory approval, both companies said, and has already been approved by U.S. Cellular’s board of directors.
If the deal isn’t completed, T-Mobile said it will pay U.S. Cellular $60 million.
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4.5 million. That’s how many new customers T-Mobile will be acquiring from U.S. Cellular as part of the deal, according to the release.
The acquisition is the latest for T-Mobile in recent years, as it seeks to compete with archrivals Verizon and AT&T. Last year, T-Mobile announced it would acquire Ka’ena Corporation—the parent company of Mint Mobile and other wireless brands—in a $1.35 billion deal. That deal was approved by the Federal Communications Commission in April. In 2020, T-Mobile merged with Sprint in a deal valued at $26 billion, after attorneys general from 13 states tried to block the transaction, arguing Sprint would be unable to operate as a wireless carrier if acquired by T-Mobile. A deal for U.S. Cellular’s wireless spectrum has reportedly been in the works for weeks, amid separate discussions with Verizon and T-Mobile.