After weeks of rumors and speculation, Apple officially announced its acquisition of Beats By Dr. Dre for a total of $3 billion. Out of the $3 billion, $2.6 billion will be cash up front and $400 million will be in stock. The purchase includes Beats Electronics ( maker of Beats headphones, speakers, and audio software ) and Beats Music ( its subscription-based streaming music service ).
FSM EXCLUSIVE DEAL “Music is such an important part of all of our lives and holds a special place within our hearts at Apple,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “That’s why we have kept investing in music and are bringing together these extraordinary teams so we can continue to create the most innovative music products and services in the world.”
To mark the occasion, HipHop’s first billionaire Dr. Dre uploaded a message “Here’s to the next episode” with the hashtag #AppleBeats to his Twitter account. ( Dre is too busy explaining to Pharrell what a Billionaire Boys Club actually is, so the message was more than probably uploaded by somebody at Beats )
Here’s to the next episode. #applebeats pic.twitter.com/GaHy1G84xF
— Beats By Dre (@beatsbydre) May 28, 2014