Apple Announces $3 Billion Beats Acquisition, Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre Joining the Company

[jon3543]

Does anyone know how long Timmy will be CEO? Is he on a contract or something? I really hate his management style and the direction he's taking the company. I was just starting to like Apple and I'm gonna make the switch to iPhone 6 but then Timmy makes a stupid decision like this to ruin Apple's carefully crafted brand. I hope they don't put that stupid red beats logo on the back of iphone 6s and ipad air 2

You're missing an "Apple is doomed!" or two. A 1 out of 10 at best.

 

[JDrive]

STAX Ltd. or Grado Labs would have been better purchases.

 

[mccldwll]

Dre made the best deal of his life, Apple one of their worst.

And you know that because..........?

 

[Technarchy]

At least now we know, why Apple earbuds are so crappy. Long live crap earphones coming with iPhone or iPod.

I love my EarPods. It's all I wear these days unless I forget them and literally have to use something else.

So when can we expect Beats Brand EarPods II?

 

[Msail30bay]

…………… God! Help us.

 

[The Barron]

Eddy has nothing to worry about except...

Time will tell. I wonder is Eddy is nervous about his role? Smile seems forced. : )

how hi$ stock option$ will be even more valuable a$ AAPL see$ $700 again before year'$ end.

Ka-Ching $ $ $

 

[SandPebble]

I'm just going to wait and see what happens.

 

[dumastudetto]

I'm so proud of Apple for creating this deal. No other company in the world could have the passion and vision to create such amazing possibilities for consumers.

Apple and Beats is a match made in heaven. Both are industry leading brands in their respective markets and create incredible experiences for all the consumers they serve.

The big winner in all of this is: us, the consumers. We are going to enjoy some incredible products and services in the years to come, and I for one cannot wait for the experiences to begin.

 

[3onpar5]

This. Completely, Absolutely this.

Everyone seems to forget that people have a weird habit of growing up. Yeah, we get it: Dre, Cube, and for that matter, Queen Latifah were harsh. They were thugged, pissed off, and militant. In short, they were the product of their neighbourhood and upbringing.

But they grew up, realized that they have families to take care of, and that they can't continue that thug way of life. Case in point: look at Tupac.

So they bunkered down in their labs with pen and paper to figure out how to build themselves a brand to last.

Cube came up with a production company (you have to admit, the Friday series is funny stuff).

Latifah: Grammy and Oscar nominated, Jazz singer, own record label, Cover Girl model.

Dre: his own record label, Beats, and now this.

Everyone wants to harp on how bad of a deal this is, whether it's from the zealots not knowing what the true vision coming out of this is, or think they know better. We don't, so we should sit back, shut up, and let time and history tell us if this was a good deal or not. Either way, you can't take away the fact that Dre has come a long way from his street thug life from Compton. He's built himself a better life, and none of us can take that away from him.

BL.

I cannot up vote this strongly enough

 

[SeattleMoose]

Let's hope they improve the quality of Beats headphones. They are very badly made, but cost the earth! It is however a very strong brand, with a huge celebrity following. Beats products seems to appear in every music video these days.

Overpriced hipster crap = A FAD!!! And we all know what happens with fads. I am just sorry that Apple made such a "Ballmeresque" mistake.

 

[HenryDJP]

Tim Cook is a moron.
Total waste of money and Dr. Dre is a POS

Exactly and that's why Tim Cook is the CEO of a company with over $100 billion in the bank and Dre is a multiplatinum recording artist/record producer who was smart enough to get Apple to buy his company for billions....while you're sitting here on your computer posting on internet forums.

 

[The Barron]

Third Party Manufacturers Rejoice

From crap earbuds to crap headphones.

This is the best news they've read in 2014!

 

[dumastudetto]

Exactly and that's why Tim Cook is the CEO of a company with over $100 billion in the bank and Dre is a multiplatinum recording artist/record producer who was smart enough to get Apple to buy his company for billions....while you're sitting here on your computer posting on internet forums.

Ouch. A little harsh but almost certainly true.

 

[The Barron]

Amen!

Speaking of ignorance, you realize there is a difference between revenue and profit, right? It will take $3B in profit to break even.

All I can say is 'good luck Apple'. I hope your shareholders get their 3 BILLION dollars worth out of this deal.

You're not kidding!

I want to see AAPL stock hit $800 by this time next year and the dividend bump up to $5 per share along with way more buy back action.

 

[chumpy34]

Reading through the 21 pages of replies, I think the ONE thing I come away with is how passionate Apple customers are in that they take this purchase of Beats so personally. If Kmart or Sony or any other large company bought another business for this price, would we even blink an eye or care?

So although some people are pissed, some happy and some waiting to see what happens, we all love Apple in our own way...

 

[dumastudetto]

Reading through the 21 pages of replies, I think the ONE thing I come away with is how passionate Apple customers are in that they take this purchase of Beats so personally. If Kmart or Sony or any other large company bought another business for this price, would we even blink an eye?
...

Kmart no, but Sony has its own community of brand loyalists. I think they'd probably be more outraged because Sony does make some really good audio gear.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I'm so proud of Apple for creating this deal. No other company in the world could have the passion and vision to create such amazing possibilities for consumers.

Apple and Beats is a match made in heaven. Both are industry leading brands in their respective markets and create incredible experiences for all the consumers they serve.

The big winner in all of this is: us, the consumers. We are going to enjoy some incredible products and services in the years to come, and I for one cannot wait for the experiences to begin.

Is that right out of some press release or do you work in the PR department of one or the other company? I guess this could be a personal opinion but it doesn't read like one to me. Nevertheless, I'm glad you're happy with this and hope you enjoy whatever does come of it.

 

[metsjetsfan]

After a few weeks of people ranting about how the sky is going to fall because Apple may buy Beats, well, the sky hasn't fallen and, most likely, will not fall in the future. Just because we, the uninformed, non-insiders, don't fully understand the makings and rationale of a $3B deal, doesn't mean it doesn't make good business sense in Apple's confidential business roadmap.

As for the quote on youtube a couple of weeks ago from Dr. Dre's posse about him being the FIRST HIP HOP billionaire, it is now 100% accurate:
Dr. Dre's 2013 net worth >$550M (according ot Forbes) + Beats acquisition $750M = $1.35B. Yes, Dr. Dre IS now the first HIP HOP Billionaire. And like Jobs and Gates, he never graduated from college!

doesnt the orginal 550 include what beats was valued at that time( arnd a billion they said) so arent you double counting. still a billionaire tho

 

[furi0usbee]

Not sure why this excites you so much. It's not like Iovine is the first bald guy to hold a high position at 1 Infinite Loop. (A couple of guys named Steve Jobs and Jonathan Ive come to mind.)

Jobs and Ive DID/DO NOT have a dome like that my friend. Iovine should just shave it off.

 

[metsjetsfan]

also dr dre can intoduce healthbook app at wwdc! finally all coming together!

 

[The Barron]

Sorry, but NO!

Tim C is a fool.. what joke this is, Dr Dre laughing all the way to the bank..Apple software has already hit rock bottom now so will it's hardware. see ya Apple you suckers.

AAPL is just starting to hit stride. The software will kick butt along with the stock price in the next year. Stay tuned & don't blink.

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All those untucked shirts! Hmmmp!

You gotta look cool & da part these days and the dudes at Apple certainly do.

 

[paradox00]

Oh no. Not good.

Oh no. Irrational thoughts.

 

[metsjetsfan]

AAPL is just starting to hit stride. The software will kick butt along with the stock price in the next year. Stay tuned & don't blink.

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i dont think this makes or breaks their stock or overall company. just a nice complement of a very small segment. people saying its gonna destroy apple are crazy. maybe it was a bad decision and a sign of things to come. but there is no way to know that until a couple yrs from now. right now it looks good.

 

[xnu]

This actually sounds more like an Apple move. Remember Apple was behind in the Mix Rip Burn revolution, they purchased SoundJam and it became iTunes. Many of the great products are/were developed elsewhere... Next. Apple, especially Steve Jobs just had/has incredible taste, and skate to where the puck is going. iTunes wasn't the first music software, iPod not the first player, iPhone not the first smart phone. Innovation for innovation sake is overrated.

I was in airport about a month ago when I noticed the shear amount of Beats headphones for sale an being utilized, I was astonished, even made a note to check to see if it was public company when I got back. Two weeks later we hear the rumor that Apple was going to purchase Beats, not surprising, not a terrible move, IMO.

 

[arkmannj]

my 2 cents

1) I don't care one way or another about the acquisition of the company / talent. I'm sure there is value there. BUT I am concerned at the amount they spent. there are an aweful lot of great acquisitions Apple could make for $3bln.

2) I'm glad they announced it now instead of spending time on it during WWDC. If there are already relevant plans that concern developers then great, that is all that needs to be at WWDC.