2A Thursday, March 16, 2023
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com
T-Mobile acquires Mint, which is
partially owned by Ryan Reynolds
RICHARD SHOTWELL I Associated Press
Ryan Reynolds arrives at the 36th annual American
Cinematheque Awards, Nov. 17, 2022, at the Beverly Hilton
Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. U.S. wireless carrier T-Mobile
announced Wednesday, March 15, that it is buying prepaid
wireless brand Mint Mobile, in which actor Ryan Reynolds is
a part owner, as part of a cash-and-stock deal worth up to
$1.35 billion.
BY MICHELLE CHAPMAN
AP Business Writer
T-Mobile will acquire
Mint Mobile, partly owned
by actor Ryan Reynolds, as
part of a cash-and-stock deal
worth as much as $1.35 bil
lion. T-Mobile’s purchase
of Ka’ena Corp. will give it
access to Mint, along with
Ultra Mobile and whole
saler Plum. The brands,
which already use T-Mobile
for their network, will be
run as a separate business
unit. Ryan Reynolds said
on Twitter that he never
thought he’d own part of
a wireless company and
never expected to sell it to
T-Mobile.
Mint Mobile, partly owned
by actor Ryan Reynolds, is
being acquired by T-Mobile
as part of a cash-and-stock
deal worth as much as $1.35
billion.
T-Mobile’s purchase of
Ka’ena Corp. will give it
access the budget wireless
provider Mint, along with
Ultra Mobile and wholesaler
Plum. The brands, which
already use T-Mobile for
their network, will be run as
a separate business unit.
“I never dreamt I’d own
a wireless company and I
certainly never dreamt I’d
sell it to T-Mobile.” Reyn
olds said in a tweet. “Life is
strange and I’m incredibly
proud and grateful.”
The U.S. wireless carrier
said Wednesday that it is
acquiring the brands’ sales,
marketing, digital and ser
vice operations. It plans to
use its supplier relationships
and distribution scale to help
grow the brands and offer
competitive pricing and
greater device inventory to
more U.S. consumers seek
ing low cost offerings.
T-Mobile US Inc. said
Mint and Ultra Mobile are
complementary to its exist
ing prepaid services, Metro
by T-Mobile, T-Mobile
branded prepaid and Con
nect by T-Mobile.
T-Mobile CEO Mike
Sievert said the company
plans to give a boost to Mint’s
already successful digital
direct-to-consumer business.
“Over the long-term, we’ll
also benefit from apply
ing the marketing formula
Mint has become famous
for across more parts of
T-Mobile,” Sievert said. “We
think customers are really
going to win with a more
competitive and expansive
Mint and Ultra.”
Mint founders David
Glickman and Rizwan Kas-
sim will stay on at T-Mobile
after the transaction is com
plete to manage the brands.
Reynolds, meanwhile, will
remain in his creative role
for Mint.
The actual price of the
deal will depend on Ka’ena
Corp.’s performance during
certain periods before and
after the closing. The trans
action is targeted to close
later this year.
T-Mobile, based in Bel
levue, Washington, became
one of the country’s largest
cellphone service carriers
in 2020 after buying rival
Sprint.
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© 2023, Vol. 76, No. 54
Thursday, March 16,2023
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EVENTS
Gentle Yoga. 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
March 22, 29. Blackshear Place Branch
Library, 2927 Atlanta Highway, Gainesville,
dl9345@bellsouth.net. Free.
Guided Hike. 10-11 a.m. March 17. Elachee
Nature Science Center, 2125 Elachee
Drive, Gainesville. 770-535-1976, sam@
elachee.org.
Ghost Hunting 101.5:30-10 p.m. March 17.
Hall County Library System, Gainesville
Branch, 127 Main St. NW, Gainesville. 770-
532-3311 ext. 4011, gkoecher@hallcoun-
tylibrary.org. Free.
“Jungle Book Kids” presented by Lyman
Hall Elementary School. 1:30-3 p.m. March
18. Chestatee High School, 3005 Sardis
Road, Gainesville. 732-735-1161, sandyn-
joe2003@yahoo.com. Free.
Spring Storybook Ballet: “Peter Pan.” 7:30-
9:30 p.m. March 24; 1 -3 p.m. and 6:30-
7:30 p.m. March 25; 2-4 p.m. March 26.
Pearce Auditorium at Brenau University,
202 Boulevard NE, Gainesville. 770-866-
5353, info@gbcdance.com. $15-$25.
Fox Gradin Arts in the Outdoors Program.
10 a.m. to noon March 25. Elachee Na
ture Science Center, 2125 Elachee Drive,
Gainesville. 770-535-1976, sam@elachee.
org.
Mutts on Main. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. March
25. Historic Gainesville square, 112 Main
St.SW, Gainesville, lshubert@gainesvil-
lega.gov.
ONGOING
Alzheimer’s Caregivers Support Group. 5:30-
6:30 p.m. first Tuesdays of the month.
Grace Episcopal Church, 422 Brenau
Ave. NE, Gainesville. 727-409-6608, char-
lenebestdewitt@gmail.com. Free.
Gold Rush Quilting Guild. 10 a.m. to noon
first Wednesdays of the month. Friendship
Baptist Church, 3513 Westmoreland Road,
Cleveland, alenekempton@gmail.com.
Turning Leaves Book Club. 11:30 a.m. to
1 p.m. first Wednesdays of the month.
Linwood Nature Preserve Ecology Center,
118 Springview Drive, Gainesville. 770-
535-8293, karin.hicks@uga.edu.
Northeast Georgia Writers. 1 -3 p.m. first
Wednesdays of the month. Gainesville
Downtown Library, 127 Main St. NW,
Gainesville. Talltaleswriter@gmail.com.
Free.
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Go to gainesvilletimes.com/calendar
for the full interactive calendar of
events throughout the region.
Card workshop. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. first Sat
urdays of the month. Hall County Library
System, Gainesville branch, 127 Main St.
NW, Gainesville. 770-532-3311 ext. 4011,
gkoecher@hallcountylibrary.org.
Ekphrasis for the Masses. Noon to 1 p.m.
second Tuesdays of the month. Quinlan Vi
sual Arts Center, 514 Green St. NE, Gaines
ville. 770-536-2575, info@qvac.org. Free.
War Stories Book Club. 4-5 p.m. second
Thursdays of the month. Murrayville Branch
Library, 4796 Thompson Bridge Road,
Gainesville. 770-532-3311 ext. 171. Free.
Discovery Saturdays. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
second Saturdays of the month. Elachee
Nature Science Center, 2125 Elachee Drive,
Gainesville. 770-535-1976. $3 - $5.
Georgia Cross Stitchers. 10 a.m. to 4:30
p.m. second Saturdays of the month. Hall
County Library System, Gainesville Branch,
127 Main St. NW, Gainesville. 770-532-
3311 ext. 4011; gkoecher@hallcountyli-
brary.org. Free.
Homeschool Day. 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. third
Thursdays of the month. Elachee Nature
Science Center, 2125 Elachee Drive,
Gainesville. 770-535-1976. $15.
Gainesville Lacers. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. third
Saturdays of the month. Hall County Li
brary System, Gainesville branch, 127
Main St. NW, Gainesville. 770-532-3311,
gkoecher@hallcountylibrary.org.
Tea with Jane Austen: A Reading Group.
3-4 p.m. fourth Fridays of the month. Hall
County Library System, Gainesville Branch,
127 Main St. NW, Gainesville. 770-532-
3311 ext. 4011, gkoecher@hallcountyli-
brary.org. Free.
TODAY IN HISTORY
JOHN DURICKAI Associated Press
President Richard Nixon gives a national broadcast, March, 17, 1972, from the White
House, telling a television audience some federal courts have “gone too far.” He urged
Congress to immediately halt all new busing orders.
On this date:
In 1521, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Ma
gellan and his crew reached the Philippines,
where Magellan was killed during a battle
with natives the following month.
In 1802, President Thomas Jefferson signed
a measure authorizing the establishment
of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point,
New York.
In 1935, Adolf Hitler decided to break the
military terms set by the Treaty of Versailles
by ordering the rearming of Germany.
In 1945, during World War II, American
forces declared they had secured Iwo Jima,
although pockets of Japanese resistance
remained.
In 1968, Senator Robert F. Kennedy of New
York announced his candidacy for the Dem
ocratic presidential nomination.
In 1968, the My Lai massacre took place
during the Vietnam War as U.S. Army sol
diers hunting for Viet Cong fighters and
sympathizers killed unarmed villagers in two
hamlets of Son My (suhn mee) village; esti
mates of the death toll vary from 347 to 504.
In 1972, in a nationally broadcast address,
President Richard Nixon called for a mora
torium on court-ordered school busing to
achieve racial desegregation.
In 1984, William Buckley, the CIA station
chief in Beirut, was kidnapped by Hezbollah
militants (he was tortured by his captors and
killed in 1985).
In 1994, figure skater Tonya Harding
pleaded guilty in Portland, Oregon, to con
spiracy to hinder prosecution for covering
up an attack on rival Nancy Kerrigan, avoid
ing jail but drawing a $100,000 fine.
In 2004, China declared victory in its fight
against bird flu, saying it had “stamped out”
all its known cases.
In 2014, Crimeans voted to leave Ukraine
and join Russia, overwhelmingly approving
a referendum that sought to unite the strate
gically important Black Sea region with the
country it was part of for some 250 years.
In 2016, President Barack Obama nomi
nated Merrick Garland to take the seat of
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who
had died the previous month. (Republicans
who controlled the Senate would stick to
their pledge to leave the seat empty until af
ter the presidential election; they confirmed
Trump nominee Neil Gorsuch in April 2017.)
In 2020, global stocks plunged again amid
coronavirus concerns, with Wall Street see
ing a 12% decline, its worst in more than 30
years; the S&P 500 was down 30% from its
record set less than a month earlier. Ohio
called off its presidential primary just hours
before polls were to open, but Arizona, Flor
ida and Illinois went ahead with their plans.
ENTERTAINMENT
Workers dismantle
Florida ride where
teen fell to death
ORLANDO, Fla. — Almost a year after
a Missouri teen fell to his death, a 400-foot
amusement ride was being dismantled
this week in central Florida’s tourism
corridor.
A gigantic crane hovered Wednesday
beside the towering ride in Orlando’s
International Drive tourism district
where 14-year-old Tyre Sampson fell in
March 2022. A fence encircled the ride
and blocked off parts of the nearby side
walk and road. The ride’s dismantling was
expected to take several days.
Sampson, who lives in the St. Louis area,
was visiting Orlando during spring break
when he died from the fall.
An autopsy showed that Tyre Samp
son suffered numerous broken bones
and internal injuries in the fall, which
was ruled an accidental death. It showed
Sampson weighed 383 pounds, well above
Celebrity birthdays
Country singer Ray Walker (The Jordanaires)
is 89. Game show host Chuck Woolery is 82.
Country singer Robin Williams is 76. Actor Erik
Estrada is 74. Actor Victor Garber is 74. Coun
try singer Ray Benson (Asleep at the Wheel) is
72. Bluegrass musician Tim O’Brien (Hot Rize;
Earls of Leicester) is 69. Rock singer-musician
Nancy Wilson (Heart) is 69. World Golf Hall of
Famer Hollis Stacy is 69. Actor Clifton Powell
is 67. Rapper-actor Flavor Flav is 64. Rock
musician Jimmy DeGrasso is 60. Actor Je
rome Flynn is 60. Folk singer Patty Griffin is 59.
Movie director Gore Verbinski is 59. Country
singer Tracy Bonham is 56. Actor Lauren Gra
ham is 56. Actor Judah Friedlander is 54.
the ride manual’s weight limit of 287
pounds
An initial report by outside engineers
hired by the Florida Department of Agri
culture said sensors on the ride had been
adjusted manually to double the size of the
opening for restraints on two seats, result
ing in the teen not being properly secured.
The report said there were many other
“potential contributions” to the accident.
Associated Press
