Apple is reportedly looking to purchase Beats Electronics, the company for which HTC paid $300 million for a 51% stake three years ago, for $3.2 billion.
Apple is set to pay over five times the amount that Beats was valued at ($600 million) in 2011, though since then the business, which is still private and doesn’t report revenue, has growth significantly and, earlier this year, launched a streaming music service. HTC subsequently sold its remaining ownership in two separate transactions, and currently has no share of Beats Electronics.
Around the time of Beats’ buyback of HTC’s remaining 25 percent stake, Beats received a $500 million investment from private equity firm Carlyle Group that valued the headphone maker at $1 billion.
Apple could make particular use of the Beats Music streaming service as it attempts to figure out the streaming media space. iTunes radio, a streaming radio service similar to Pandora, has been panned by critics for its poor track selection. And iTunes Match, which can scan your music library and then let you stream tracks to your Apple devices over the internet, isn’t as robust as music services like Spotify.
Apple also has a relatively close relationship with Beats, offering the company’s products at its online and retail stores.[signoff predefined=”Enjoy this?” icon=”icon-users”][/signoff]
