Deal done! Apple welcomes Beats to the family
When Apple announced that it had agreed to purchase Beats Audio for $3 billion back in May, it was also said that the deal was expected to finalize during Q2. Today, it looks like the deal has been made official, despite hearing only from the European Commission as far as regulatory approval. The news was broken by Tim Cook and Dre tweeting the news along with links to the welcome page on the Apple site and Beats site.
The Apple page welcomes Beats Audio and cofounders Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre to the Apple family. The message goes on to say:
Beats cofounders Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre have created beautiful products that have helped millions of people deepen their connection to music. We’re delighted to be working with the team to elevate that experience even further.
And we can’t wait to hear what’s next.
On the Beats site, credit is given to the Macintosh computer as being the "instrument of choice" for digital music creation, as well as nods to the iPod, iPhone, and iPad. In addition to this welcome page, Beats has updated its support pages to note that "All online purchasing will go through the Apple Online Store" for Beats products.
Of course, it isn't all good news, because it was reported recently that Apple would be letting go about 200 Beats employees as part of the acquisition. The rest of the employees will be kept on Apple's staff.
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