Yesterday it was a rumor, today it’s official. Apple has closed its biggest acquisition in years, having scooped up Beats Electronics in a deal worth $3.2 billion.
As part of the deal, the company didn’t just a portfolio of fancy headphones and speakers, but also Beats music streaming service that works across iOS, Android and Windows Phone devices. It remains to be seen whether that will change now that Cook & Co. are behind the wheel.
In addition, Beats also has deals with few OEMs, such as HTC and HP, and as far as we can’t tell – terms of those arrangements will likely change soon.
Three years ago, HTC paid $300 million to get a 51% stake in the company but has afterwards decided to sell off its shares. It’s obvious Apple sees the potential in Beats and we can’t wait to see how they integrate it into their iTunes offering.
With both album and individual track sales going south, the addition of Beats could prove beneficial for the Cupertino giant, cementing Apple’s position in the music industry along the way. We’ll see how that goes…
UPDATE: This is still not official. We’re still waiting for the press release.