Apple aquires Beats by Dre for 2.6 billion(+400 million)

[Eric]

http://www.cnbc.com/id/101710643

Apple will acquire headphone maker Beats Electronics for $3 billion, Apple said on Wednesday.

The deal is expected to close in the fiscal fourth quarter. Apple will pay $2.6 billion in cash and another $400 million in equity. It will also continue to use the Beats brand.

[Julius Seeker]

I heard this at work, Dre and Lovine are now on the Apple board of directors. It seems that there's the implication in the press that one of the motivating factors was that Apple hasn't been perceived as cool enough by younger people

Apple has been spending a lot of money lately. This 3 billion is just the tip of the iceburg. They bought back 44 billion in stock recently. Their market value is skyrocketing.

[Anarky]

I see people in the gym wearing Beats all the time, but the cost versus quality is mind bogling to me.

I love Dre's new crowd

[Shrinweck]

They fit Apple's raison d'etre perfectly. Overpriced and not as well made as the competition ;)

[Eric]

I see people in the gym wearing Beats all the time, but the cost versus quality is mind bogling to me.

I love Dre's new crowd.

Yes, say what you want about Dre, Ice Cube, etc but those guys have come a long way from Compton(Late 70s, early 80s) of all places.

[Julius Seeker]

Makes me wonder where Eazy E would be were he still alive? His indie label was the top selling hip hop label in the world for a while; the first and last time that ever happened. He was the first of the group to make it big, but he checked out way too early. Dre was the last of the three, but it looks like he'll be the one who hits a billion.

[Eric]

Without Easy E those two wouldn't exist for all intents and purposes. It's hard to contemplate what the world would be like with him still in it, since almost all of those gangster rap labels from then are dead, and it's hard to say whether or not he was gonna stick to just making music or diversify. Bad Boy Records was the last one formed really, and Sean Combs wasn't stupid, he knew he had to diversify and he did in the long run, so even with Notorious BIG died he was still fine.

[SineSwiper]

They fit Apple's raison d'etre perfectly. Overpriced and not as well made as the competition

So much this.