It is being rumoured that Apple is in talks with Dr. Dre over the acquisition of Beats Electronics for a whopping $3.2 billion.
This seems to have been corroborated by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and re/code.
This deal would be Apple’s largest acquisition ever.
The company was founded by rapper and music producer Dr Dre and fellow music producer Jimmy Iovine in 2008. It produces ‘Beats by Dr Dre’ headphones and also runs a music streaming service. Dre’s stake in Beats currently stands at somewhere around 20-25%.
Beats Electronics received a $500m (£295m) investment from Carlyle Group last September, valuing the company at more than $1bn.
Though Apple and Beats have not commented on the reports, Dr Dre boasts that he is “the first billionaire in hip hop” in a video posted by singer Tyrese Gibson.
He then laughs as Gibson says: “Billionaire boys club for real, homie. The Forbes list just changed.” Though the video and accompanying photos have been pulled from Tyrese Gibson’s Facebook page, you can still watch the clip on YouTube.
The Financial Times says the deal could be announced as early as next week.
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Update (28 May 2014):
Apple officially announced it has agreed to acquire the critically acclaimed subscription streaming music service Beats Music, and Beats Electronics, which makes the popular Beats headphones, speakers and audio software. As part of the acquisition, Beats co-founders Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre will join Apple. Apple is acquiring the two companies for a total of $3 billion, consisting of a purchase price of approximately $2.6 billion and approximately $400 million that will vest over time.
