Pay-as-you-go service provider Virgin Mobile today finalized its acquisition of Helio.

As part of its bid, Virgin agreed to pay Helip shareholders SK Telecom and EarthLink 13 million shares of Virgin Mobile Class A common stock--equivalent to $38 million.

Said Virgin Mobile CDO, Dan Schulman

Adding Helio's differentiated postpaid offer to Virgin Mobile USA's existing portfolio will expand both our market opportunity and our ability to deliver new products and services more rapidly. We believe this transformative transaction will bolster our leading position in the wireless space, and enable us to provide customers with whatever they need in wireless, always with our focus on great value, flexibility and customer service. We look forward to revealing our roadmap for expanded, innovative offers in the near future.

The acquisition will provide Virgin Mobile with roughly 170,000 new customers.