T-Mobile to acquire majority of U.S. Cellular in $4.4 billion deal with focus on rural coverage enhancement

T-Mobile is buying most of U.S. Cellular for $4.4 billion, which includes debt. This means T-Mobile is paying a lot of money to own a big part of U.S. Cellular. The deal was announced on May 28, 2024, at 7:46 AM in New York. This news is getting a lot of attention. T-Mobile wants to buy most of U.S. Cellular, which includes their stores, some of their wireless networks, and their customers. The deal is worth $4.4 billion, which includes money and up to $2 billion in debt. This means T-Mobile will give U.S. Cellular some money and also take on some of their debt. U.S. Cellular's stock price went up by more than 10% before the market opened. This means that investors think it's good for U.S. Cellular to be bought by T-Mobile. T-Mobile will get about 30% of U.S. Cellular's wireless networks. This will help T-Mobile provide better coverage in rural areas and improve connectivity for U.S. Cellular customers all over the country. U.S. Cellular customers can choose to keep their current plans or switch to a T-Mobile plan. U.S. Cellular will still keep 70% of their wireless networks and towers. They will also let T-Mobile use space on more than 2,100 towers. This means that U.S. Cellular will still have some of their own networks and towers. This deal comes after T-Mobile bought Ka'ena, the parent company of Mint Mobile, for $1.35 billion. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission approved that deal in April. T-Mobile also merged with Sprint in 2020 for $26 billion. This shows that T-Mobile is growing and making big moves in the wireless industry. T-Mobile and Verizon were talking about buying U.S. Cellular's wireless networks, but it seems like T-Mobile won the deal. The companies expect the deal to be done by mid-2025. This means that T-Mobile will soon own a big part of U.S. Cellular and make changes to improve their services.