T-Mobile US, Inc. ( TMUS ) shares are moving higher Tuesday. The company agreed to acquire nearly all of UScellular ‘s wireless operations.

What Happened: T-Mobile announced Tuesday that it will acquire nearly all of UScellular’s wireless operations, including UScellular’s wireless customers and stores, for approximately $4.4 billion. The deal will expand T-Mobile’s network to millions of new customers including those in underserved rural areas.

T-Mobile will finance the transaction with a combination of cash and up to $2 billion of debt to be assumed by T-Mobile through an exchange offer to be made to certain UScellular debtholders prior to closing. 

T-Mobile customers will receive access to UScellular’s networks in regions that previously experienced limited coverage. In addition, customers will benefit from enhanced performance throughout UScellular’s footprint due to the addition of UScellular spectrum to T-Mobile’s network.

“With this deal T-Mobile can extend the superior Un-carrier value and experiences that we’re famous for to millions of UScellular customers and deliver them lower-priced, value-packed plans and better connectivity on our best-in-class nationwide 5G network,” said Mike Sievert, CEO of T-Mobile.

“As customers from both companies will get more coverage and more capacity from our combined footprint, our competitors will be forced to keep up – and even more consumers will benefit.”

T-Mobile noted that it does not expect the transaction to impact the company’s 2024 guidance.

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TMUS Price Action: At the time of publication, T-Mobile shares were up 0.63% at $167.14, per data from Benzinga Pro.

Image: 8723233 from Pixabay.