Smart phones beyond BlackBerryMore VideosNEW YORK (AP) -- Virgin Mobile USA Inc. is buying Helio LLC, a struggling cell phone carrier that was founded to bring the advanced features of South Korean phones to the U.S. market.Virgin Mobile said Friday it would pay $39 million in stock for Helio, which has 170,000 subscribers, down from nearly 200,000 at the beginning of the year.
At the same time, British billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Group and SK Telecom, the South Korean carrier that is the majority owner of Helio, will each invest $25 million in Virgin Mobile. That will give SK Telecom a 17% stake in Virgin Mobile.
Virgin Mobile indicated that it will keep operating Helio's advanced data services and its contract-based service plans. Virgin Mobile's own plans are prepaid and lack contracts.
Read More
