Apple inc to buy "Beats by Dre" for over $3.2 billion

Apple Inc is close to paying a record $3.2 billion for Beats Electronics, two people with knowledge of the matter said, an expensive foray into music streaming and headphone gear that would mark a departure for the usually cash-conservative iPhone maker.

Both companies are hashing out details and the envisioned deal could still fall through, one person told Reuters on condition of anonymity because the discussions were private.

A second source familiar with the matter told Reuters that Apple was in the market for a subscription-based music service to complement its "iRadio" ad-based offering, launched in 2013 as part of an attempt to jump into a music-streaming arena then split between a handful of startups such as Pandora Inc.

Founded by rapper Dr. Dre and legendary music producer Jimmy Iovine, Beats Electronics is best known for its "Beats by Dr Dre" line of trendy headphones that vie with the likes of Skullcandy Inc, Sennheiser Electronic and Bose Corp. This year, it launched a music service that has won plaudits for its slick design and human music curation, versus the computer-algorithms that determine playlists for most of its rivals.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/09/us-apple-offer-idUSBREA4711X20140509

But analysts on Thursday questioned whether Beats, valued at just $1 billion during its last funding round in September, was worth that price. Apple had more than $130 billion in cash as of the end of March, but the vast majority of that is parked abroad and investors have called on the company to return more cash in the form of dividends and buybacks.

 Dr Dre is reported to have dropped a whooping $40million to buy the mega mansion of supermodel Gisele Bundchen and her quarterback husband, Tom Brady in Brentwood, California.
 
Dre, who recently signed a $3billion deal with Apple for his Beats Electronic company was the highest bidder for the house which has been on the market for about three months now.
The mansion, which is Eco-friendly, is made of two estates that collectively has 8 bedrooms, six garages and a moat. The main house alone is on almost 14,000 square feet with six bedrooms and nine bathrooms. It also has a professional grade home gym, an infinity pool, a waterfall and a motor court

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