Deutsche Telekom’s mobile unit, T-Mobile USA, said Monday that it has agreed to acquire regional US cellco, SunCom Wireless, for around $2.4bn in cash and assumed debt.

GSM operator SunCom has around 1 million subscribers across the Southeastern United States, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Through the acquisition, T-Mobile anticipates it can save approximately $1bn through reduced roaming and operating expenses.

The acquisition price includes a cash payment of approximately $1.6bn and $800m in net debt. Following the closing of the transaction, T-Mobile USA expects to fully integrate SunCom’s assets into its own network.

“With the acquisition of SunCom, we will continue to implement our strategy to ‘grow abroad with mobile’, which is part of our overall group strategy,” said Rene Obermann, chairman of the board at Deutsche Telekom. “At the same time we can realise significant synergies on the cost side and improve our market presence. As a result, this acquisition will fit very well with our strategy to grow abroad with mobile primarily within our current footprint within the context of market consolidation.”