Rumor: Apple Wants to Acquire Beats for $3.2 Billion – Update

Apple is reportedly on the verge of acquiring Beats audio products and services company for $3.2 billion. The deal could be announced as early as next week.

The rumor was first put out by the Financial Times and Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times claim to hear the same from their sources. However, in the reporting there is a blow to the arm that some important details still need to be negotiated. If the $3.2 billion deal goes through, it would be by far the largest acquisition in Apple’s history.

The Cupertino group thus acquires a company that is mainly known for its headphones. Beats started its own line of headphones in 2008, as an alternative to the standard headphones that Apple supplied with the iPod. In addition to Beats’ great brand awareness, the company’s streaming service, Beats Music, may be a reason for Apple’s interest. With iTunes Radio, Apple has its own streaming service, but the competition in this market is fierce.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has had conversations with Beats founder Jimmy Lovine in the past and Beats products are already prominent in Apple Stores. According to the NYT, Lovine would report to Tim Cook as “special advisor for creative matters” after the acquisition.

In the past, HTC and Beats have worked closely together, but last September the headphone maker bought all of HTC’s shares to continue on its own.

Update 11.25: dr. Dre appears to confirm the Beats sale in a video that Tyrese Gibson took and posted to Facebook. The rapper and his friends can be seen celebrating a party, where he claims he is “the first billionaire in hip hop”. According to Gibson, the video was shot the night the deal closed.