T-Mobile to acquire Vistar Media for US$600m

T-Mobile is acquiring Vistar Media for US$600m in cash, aiming to fuel better ad experiences for consumers and more effective products for advertisers.

As part of the agreement, T-Mobile will acquire all of Vistar’s capabilities through the T-Mobile Advertising Solutions business. This includes its intelligent marketplace and technology solutions for buying, selling and managing media campaigns across a global network of more than 1.1 million digital screens provided by nearly 370 OOH media owners and serving more than 3,000 brand partner advertisers, according to the release.  

The transaction is expected to close in Q1 2025, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including receipt of required regulatory approvals. 
This combination will help transform the digital-out-of-home (DOOH) industry by leveraging Vistar’s end-to-end ad-tech platform and scale, together with T-Mobile’s unique customer insights and data.  

As one of the largest physical in-store retail media network operators, T-Mobile will help marketers and advertisers reach consumers with more addressable and measurable solutions, delivering greater efficiency and ROI, while enhancing the consumer experience with more meaningful and engaging content. 

“T-Mobile is always envisioning new ways to deliver for consumers and we see a tremendous opportunity to provide more relevant and personalised advertising,” said JP Colaco, SVP & chief T-ads officer, T-Mobile. “Combining T-Mobile’s customer-centric approach and its expertise as one of the nations most scaled marketers, with Vistar’s leading out-of-home technology means advertisers can easily place their ads where they know their audience will be, improving every step of the customer journey. Together with Vistar, T-Mobile will deliver advertising solutions built by marketers, for marketers.” 

“We are excited to join T-Mobile, a brand that truly understands the power and potential of out-of-home advertising,” said Michael Provenzano, CEO & co-founder of Vistar Media. “For 13 years, Vistar has pioneered using technology and data to transform OOH into a strategic and measurable channel. T-Mobile’s belief in the future of OOH - and their decision to acquire Vistar - underscores the strength of this channel. Together, we have the opportunity to enhance our offerings for customers and partners globally, and inspire brands to think bigger and redefine how they engage with audiences in the real world.” 

T-Mobile continues to expect to return up to US$14 billion as part of its 2025 Shareholder Return Programme. Depending on the actual timing of close for the company’s announced and still pending transactions, along with the company’s liquidity position and other capital allocation priorities, the company may consider allocating additional capital to the 2025 Shareholder Return Programme. 

T-Mobile has been investing big in media assets in recent years. Back in 2022, it acquired Octopus Interactive, which oversaw a network of interactive video screens inside Uber and Lyft vehicles; and in 2023, it expanded its advertising solutions to include Retail Media Network (RMN) comprised of more than 20,000 screens.

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