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BREAKING NEWS: Apple In Talks To Buy Beats For $3.2B

BREAKING NEWS: Apple In Talks To Buy Beats For $3.2B

In Australia the headphone brand that was initially distributed by Convoy and later by Ingram Micro has been the #1 headphone brand competing head on with Sennheiser and Monster for marketshare. 

According to the Financial Times Apple is close to announcing the acquisition of Beats Electronics the headphone maker and music streaming Company that was founded by music producer Jimmy Iovine and the hip-hop star Dr Dre.

The deal could be announced as early as next week, people familiar with the negotiations said, but they cautioned that some details had yet to be agreed and talks could still fall apart.

A deal of this scale would represent a radical departure for Tim Cook, chief executive of the iPhone maker: under the late Steve Jobs, Apple was reluctant to pursue high-profile acquisitions.

According to sources. Apple will acquire Beats’ streaming music service, which launched this year, and its audio equipment business, which includes its brand of headphones and audio equipment. The Beats management team will report to Mr Cook, said people familiar with the deal. Apple and Beats declined to comment.

While Beats commands a leading position in the premium
headphone market, its real value to Apple is in revitalising its
“cool” at a time when iTunes has waned in popularity and Samsung’s
marketing campaigns have savaged the iPhone’s brand.

For several competing headphone brands who currently sell
their products via Apple stores the big question is whether Apple will drop
competing brands and solely sell Beats sound products.

The deal is likely to be seen as an admission that Apple
needs to look outside its Cupertino labs to continue making an impact.

Recently Apple executives admitted that its brand is in need
of a revamp. Internal emails released during its recent patent trial with
Samsung showed that its marketing chief Phil Schiller considered changing
Apple’s ad agency after the success of its Korean rival’s “next big
thing” campaign.

CNBC claim that Apple is paying a hefty premium for cool:
Beats took a $500m investment from Carlyle in September 2013 that valued the
company at more than $1 billion. “In terms of acquisitions, Apple has been
very, very light in their activity,” said Richard Lane, analyst at
Moody’s. “I don’t think they’ve spent $1 billion in any of the last four
years.”

Mr Cook said last month Apple was “on the prowl”
for more acquisitions, after buying 24 companies in the past 18 months and he
was not averse to large acquisitions.

The Beats move follows a string of high-priced deals in
Silicon Valley, after Google acquired smart home developer Nest Labs for $3.2
billion and Facebook offered an initial $19 billion for WhatsApp Messenger.
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