Apple's rumored Beats acquisition reportedly pushed back one week

Posted:
in General Discussion edited May 2014
A report late Wednesday claims finalization of Apple's rumored bid to acquire Beats Electronics for $3.2 billion may be pushed back, leaving industry watchers more time to speculate on what the supposed buy means for both companies.


Source: Beats Music

Citing people familiar with Apple's negotiations with Beats, Re/code reports a deal may not be inked until next week, one week later than originally rumored.

The news is the latest chapter in a string of rumors, speculation and analysis surrounding an Apple-Beats tie-up, which has been making headlines since multiple publications reported the two companies were in buyout discussions last week.

While neither company has confirmed the talks, a video surfaced online last week showing Beats cofounder Dr. Dre, whose real name is Andre Young, seemingly celebrating the acquisition with actor Tyrese Gibson. The "evidence," however, is circumstantial at best.

After showing initial confusion, some analysts are now saying Apple's Beats buy could be a smart strategic move that would open new doors for the Cupertino, Calf.-based company. Along with Young's cachet, Beats cofounder Jimmy Iovine is a powerful figure in the music industry and currently sits as chairman of record label Interscope Geffen A&M. The two executives would likely take on senior positions at Apple if and when the $3.2 billion deal is inked.

It has also been speculated that Beats Music, the firm's fledgling streaming service, is Apple's main target, with Beats' high-margin audio hardware business being a secondary benefit.

Most recently, a report on Monday claimed Iovine and Young may take the stage at this year's Worldwide Developers Conference in June.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 102
    rob53rob53 Posts: 3,241member
    How is next week on a rumor pushing anything back?
  • Reply 2 of 102
    zabazaba Posts: 226member
    rob53 wrote: »
    How is next week on a rumor pushing anything back?
    Well it's only been speculated that the rumoured deal won't be finalised while next week. Lol.
  • Reply 3 of 102
    philboogiephilboogie Posts: 7,675member
    Strange picture, the person on the left looks like he's in need of taking a dump and the guy on the right doesn't seem happy - at all.
  • Reply 4 of 102
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by rob53 View Post



    How is next week on a rumor pushing anything back?

     

    Now we have rumors about other rumors. 

  • Reply 5 of 102
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    It's just a hint of a whisper of an unverified rumor.

    In other news, Leo Laporte says the whole rumor was concocted by Iovine and Dre to get Google to buy their company.
  • Reply 6 of 102
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by PhilBoogie View Post



    Strange picture, the person on the left looks like he's in need of taking a dump and the guy on the right doesn't seem happy - at all.

    They've both just been told they're not getting reserved parking slots at the Spaceship.

  • Reply 7 of 102
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    They've both just been told they're not getting reserved parking slots at the Spaceship.

    And no free coffee!
  • Reply 8 of 102
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member

    AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

     

    LIKE CLOCKWORK EVERY TIME.

     

    Rumored product isn’t happening? IT WAS JUST DELAYED I’M NOT WRONG PLEASE KEEP PAYING ME. Rumored purchase isn’t happening? ANNOUNCEMENT PUSHED BACK.

  • Reply 9 of 102
    quinneyquinney Posts: 2,528member
    I heard it was due to supply constraints.
  • Reply 10 of 102
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    They've both just been told they're not getting reserved parking slots at the Spaceship.

    Flavor Flav wants in on the deal so he can were Apple's new Campus II around his neck.

    (Still working on that joke)
  • Reply 11 of 102
    quinneyquinney Posts: 2,528member
    If there really is a deal in the works, I hope the delay is for renegotiating the price due to the music moguls running off at the mouth. A couple hundred million should be about right for violating non-disclosure agreements. If they are going to work at Apple, they have to be less about grabbing the spotlight and more about advancing the team.
  • Reply 12 of 102
    I'm really hoping this deal goes through. After watching Iovine talk about Beats during his All Things D interview last year, it seems pretty obvious how much his vision of the future of music and music curation can improve iTunes; iTunes has always been surprisingly devoid of human touch/curation. This is one of the few things that Apple can't do in house. Clever algorithms are not enough. You need people that know about music and know people in music; Jimmy, Dre, and Trent certainly do. It's not just hype; since the rumors came out I've been playing with Beats Music and it's really great (I know, anecdotal). Also, if you pay attention in the video, Jimmy hints about working with Apple and incorporating info about your iTunes library into the service. Finally, all of this potential comes at very little risk (other than upsetting some Apple fans on forums, and providing fodder for the typical FUD makers in the media), as the hardware aspect of the business leaves minimal financial risk.
  • Reply 13 of 102
    pacificfilmpacificfilm Posts: 134member
    philboogie wrote: »
    Strange picture, the person on the left looks like he's in need of taking a dump and the guy on the right doesn't seem happy - at all.
  • Reply 14 of 102
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member

    Wouldn't it be great if there were actually talks happening, but no final deal reached yet, and then after that idiotic video, Apple is reconsidering the whole deal, which is why there is this mysterious delay all of a sudden? That would be the logical thing to do in my opinion. Apple is a multi billion dollar corporation, and they shouldn't be hiring any clowns with loose mouths. Apple needs to double down on security, and not do the opposite by exposing themselves to more threats.

     

    This rumor needs a good conclusion, and the best thing that could happen is if this deal is dead.

     

    If the deal does turn out to be true, then so be it, but I will be pretty glad if it doesn't happen. In the big scheme of all things Apple, this is pretty insignificant, in my opinion, and Apple should be concentrating on far more important and bigger things.

  • Reply 15 of 102
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    I'm really hoping this deal goes through. After watching Iovine talk about Beats during his All Things D interview last year, it seems pretty obvious how much his vision of the future of music and music curation can improve iTunes; iTunes has always been surprisingly devoid of human touch/curation. This is one of the few things that Apple can't do in house. Clever algorithms are not enough. You need people that know about music and know people in music; Jimmy, Dre, and Trent certainly do. It's not just hype; since the rumors came out I've been playing with Beats Music and it's really great (I know, anecdotal). Also, if you pay attention in the video, Jimmy hints about working with Apple and incorporating info about your iTunes library into the service. Finally, all of this potential comes at very little risk (other than upsetting some Apple fans on forums, and providing fodder for the typical FUD makers in the media), as the hardware aspect of the business leaves minimal financial risk.
    Is music really the future? This seems so mid 2000s to me. As if Apple is trying to get back some of the iPod cool. Listen to this recent podcast from Ben Thompson: http://exponent.fm/. the guy on the podcast with him makes some good points. Apple's MO has always been about making the best products. I don't see how this fits in with that. It doesn't seem like Beats really has the best of anything other than just a cool brand. And when in the past has Apple purchased another company for its brand or for a revenue stream? If Jimmy Iovine is really that special surely Apple could have nabbed him without having to buy the whole company?

    Streaming music certainly is the future of music, but is it the next big thing? We can make fun of Google buying a thermostat company, but what they were really buying into is the internet of things, buying into big data. Tony Fadell already said they're thinking beyond thermostats and smoke detectors. Go to any website these days and all you see are Microsoft Cloud advertisements. They're all over TV too. Again all about big data. Microsoft's virtual assistant Cortana already has more functionality than Siri does. To me Beats isn't skating to where the puck will be. It's trying to buy some cool and fix a music service that Apple should have working on 3-4 years ago. Acquisitions like AuthenTec, PrimeSense, a lot of the location mapping stuff, the hires with experience in the medical devices fields, those all seem more about the future than Beats does. And none of them cost $3B.
  • Reply 16 of 102
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    apple ][ wrote: »
    If the deal does turn out to be true, then so be it, but I will be pretty glad if it doesn't happen. In the big scheme of all things Apple, this is pretty insignificant, in my opinion, and Apple should be concentrating on far more important and bigger things.
    This. As I said in a previous thread, if AI ran a poll asking people what acquisition Apple should make or what it should be focusing on I doubt Beats would have ever made the list. And yeah iTunes Radio may not be the best streaming music service but is that Apple's most pressing concern? I don't think so.
  • Reply 17 of 102
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    rogifan wrote: »
    As I said in a previous thread, if AI ran a poll asking people what acquisition Apple should make or what it should be focusing on I doubt Beats would have ever made the list.

    I think you're probably right, but that is only because we're only likely to think of companies that appeal to use or have enough mindshare to that we'd think of them even if they don't directly appeal to us. Nest? Bad buy. Moto? Bad buy. Oculus? Bad buy. Instagram? Bad buy. Twitter? Bad buy. LinkedIn? Bad buy. (All those buys are my opinions)

    The right buy for Apple is likely to be something we don't expect as their history has been acquisitions we didn't expect so our not guessing that Apple would PA Semi or even understanding what kind of a lead that would give Apple is not something we should rebuke them for doing.

    If this rumour turns out to be true you should ask yourself what you're not seeing, not ask why Apple is so stupid or why the board hasn't fired Tim Cook yet.
  • Reply 18 of 102
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    solipsismx wrote: »
    I think you're probably right, but that is only because we're only likely to think of companies that appeal to use or have enough mindshare to that we'd think of them even if they don't directly appeal to us. Nest? Bad buy. Moto? Bad buy. Oculus? Bad buy. Instagram? Bad buy. Twitter? Bad buy. LinkedIn? Bad buy. (All those buys are my opinions)

    The right buy for Apple is likely to be something we don't expect as their history has been acquisitions we didn't expect so our not guessing that Apple would PA Semi or even understanding what kind of a lead that would give Apple is not something we should rebuke them for doing.

    If this rumour turns out to be true you should ask yourself what you're not seeing, not ask why Apple is so stupid or why the board hasn't fired Tim Cook yet.
    I'm seeing in my Twitter feed that leaks came from one side (i.e. not Apple). And now there is speculation that Apple is putting the screws to Beats over price or that perhaps what gets announced won't be an acquisition, but something else. I don't think that Dre video (which got pulled) was a smart idea. And if these leaks came from Beats I can see where Apple would be pissed. I suppose it's possible that there were negotiations with nothing finalized but someone at Beats decided to leak it and perhaps Apple decided to
    It the breaks on it. One can hope.:)
  • Reply 19 of 102
    katezkatez Posts: 3member

    I saw a lot of discussions going in social media's about this topic.

  • Reply 20 of 102
    andysolandysol Posts: 2,506member
    Wonder what the excuse will be next week if it doesn't pan out.

    I said all along I don't mind the deal, I just believe 3.2 is way too high of a number and it should be around 2b. Which is still overvalued, but within reason. 3.2 isn't.
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