Virgin Mobile buys Helio

The two companies re-sell cell phone capacity and offer a bunch of clownish bells and whistles, mainly for the early 20s crowd. Under the all-stock deal, which has been in the works for a while, Virgin Mobile, part of Richard Branson's Virgin Group, will pay $39 million for Helio. L.A.-based Helio was being bankrolled by South Korea's Korea's SK Telecom, which will wind up with 17 percent of Virgin Mobile and hold two seats on its board. The main point to remember - and what this deal shows - is that these two companies are in a dying business. We refer to the mobile virtual network operator, or MVNO, business. It combines cell phone service, a souped-up phone, and the aforementioned bells and whistles (mini-concerts, sports, etc.). It seemed like a good idea a few years ago, but now all the Big Boys are doing much the same thing. So who needs an MVNO? By the way, Helio was started up by EarthLink founder Sky Dayton. EarthLink, originally started in Pasadena (it’s now in Atlanta), had been a major investor in Helio, but pulled out some months back. (PC World)