S. Samuel
Music mogul Dr. Dre is officially sitting on a billi with mega tech giant Apple finally cashing-in and purchasing his Beats Electronics for $3 billion. #ABilli
According to reports, Beats is now officially in Apple’s control after weeks of speculation.
On Wednesday, Apple made its biggest bet on the future of music since it first transformed the industry more than a decade ago with its iTunes music store. The tech giant made its largest acquisition ever, agreeing to pay $3 billion in a deal to acquire the maker of the popular Beats headphones, along with the streaming music service Beats Music. (Washington Post)
Dre’s business partner Jimmy Iovine issued a statement to confirm the deal.
The announcement caps off weeks of speculation surrounding the deal, which will see Beats co-founders Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre join Apple to play an unspecified role. Apple will pay $2.6 billion in cash and $400 million in equity that will vest over time, the company said. “I’ve always known in my heart that Beats belonged with Apple,” music mogul Iovine said in a statement. “The idea when we started the company was inspired by Apple’s unmatched ability to marry culture and technology. Apple’s deep commitment to music fans, artists, songwriters and the music industry is something special.” (Washington Post)
According to reports, Apple swiped away $200 million from its original offer.
The tech titan is expected to announce its acquisition of Beats Electronics this week — at the slightly reduced price of $3 billion, The Post has learned. A report in the Financial Times earlier this month tipping the deal put the price at $3.2 billion. That may have been the case, but negotiations between Apple CEO Tim Cook and the company co-founded by Dr. Dre were not helped by a leaked report that had Beats Music with just 111,000 subscribers to its streaming service in March. (NY Post)
Details of the potential deal surfaced online earlier this month.
Apple is set to acquire headphone maker and music company Beats Electronics for a reported $3.2 billion. The acquisition could be announced as early as next week, the Financial Times reported, based on people familiar with the negotiations. USA TODAY independently confirmed the deal through a source who is not authorized to speak publicly about it. (USA Today)
