Apple may acquire Beats Music, headphones, report says
Apple may be planning a $3.2 billion acquisition of Beats Electronics, the headphone maker and music streaming service founded by hip-hop star Dr. Dre and record producer Jimmy Iovine, according to a new report.
In its report posted online Thursday, The Financial Times said the talks were still ongoing, but could collapse if the two sides cannot agree on some final details. Citing people familiar with the negotiations, the newspaper said that Apple could announce the deal as early as next week.
Unlike other companies such as Facebook, which made big acquisitions of WhatsApp in February and Oculus VR in March, Apple has traditionally seen little need to buy technology from other companies, priding itself on turning its own ideas into revolutionary products, such as the Macintosh, iPod, iPhone and iPad. The $3.2 billion deal, if completed, would be the largest purchase in the company's 38-year history.
The potential acquisition would add Beats Electronics' popular line of headphones and music streaming service to an Apple lineup that already includes iTunes, the world's top music retailer.
Apple hasn't released a breakthrough product since its visionary former CEO, Steve Jobs, died in October 2011, putting pressure on Jobs' hand-picked successor, Tim Cook, to prove he is capable of sustaining the success and growth of world's most valuable company and beloved brand.
Some took to Twitter to criticize the planned acquisition, questioning Apple's strategy, with others saying it may be worth the money.
You would expect #Apple to be able to innovate on both music and headphones themselves. Instead of acquiring a hollow brand like #Beats.
— Thor Martin (@thooor) May 9, 2014
It's like $AAPL is trying to *prove* there is a bubble in tech merger valuations #beats
— Kid Dynamite (@KidDynamiteBlog) May 8, 2014
LOL #beats #apple pic.twitter.com/1pTx2GUQfl
— Tim Dickinson (@7im) May 8, 2014
Putting the #Beats #Apple merger into some perspective- the premium headphone mkt surpassed $1Bn last year; Beats owns more than half of it
— Ben Arnold (@TechBarnold) May 9, 2014