Beats and HTC to Part Ways
HTC is getting out of the Beats brand
The rumors were true. Beats and HTC are breaking up. Last month there were rumors that Beats wanted to buy back HTC's stake in the audio company and find another investor. Bloomberg today reports that HTC is selling its remaining 24.84 percent stake in Beats Electronics for $265 million.
The deal will apparently net HTC $85 million in pretax profits when it closes in the fourth quarter of this year.
Back in August of 2011, HTC poured $300 million into a deal with Beats Electronics, manufacturer of the hugely popular 'Beats by Dre' audio equipment. Just one year later, in July of 2012, HTC sold half of its 50 percent stake back to Beats. In mid-August, there was talk that Beats was looking to buy out HTC's remaining stake in favor of a new investor that's willing to put up the funds for growth.
The deal will offer HTC, which is facing tough times, a nice injection of cash and frees Beats up to seek another investor. Who will that be? Well, Bloomberg writes that Carlyle Group is coming on board, though it's only with a minority investment. That deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter, though financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.
Beats was launched in 2009 as part of an effort to improve the quality of audio products being sold today. Iovine, also the CEO of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, said in 2009 that the record industry had allowed music to be degraded and that Beats hoped to change that. "It's one thing to let it get stolen," he told CNet. "It's another to allow it to be degraded because then you really don't have a chance...video games and TV quality are getting better and the quality of our work is getting lower. If that happens, then music will become disposable."
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Jane McEntegart is a writer, editor, and marketing communications professional with 17 years of experience in the technology industry. She has written about a wide range of technology topics, including smartphones, tablets, and game consoles. Her articles have been published in Tom's Guide, Tom's Hardware, MobileSyrup, and Edge Up.
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Kitlope Too bad they have spiked the bass to make it sound "badass". Not an accurate headphone at all and the price is much too high.Reply -
michael908 These are the most over rated headphones that ever existed. I'd rather have a pair of bose headphones than these.Reply -
Vorador2 My HTC One X came with free Beats earbuds. It said in the package they cost over 100$.Reply
After trying them, i send them back to the box and kept my "cheapo" Sennheiser CX-300 II.
I say good riddance. -
edogawa Good god, I hate beats, I always see black people wearing them too. Over rated garbage with tons of bass.Reply -
shin0bi272 I have 24 dollar sennheiser headphones that sound better and saved me 475 dollars. Beats headphones just suck I wouldnt even take a free pair they suck that bad. I hope they go under. Not like Dr. Dre needs more money or anything.Reply -
m32 Reply11615130 said:Good god, I hate beats, I always see black people wearing them too. Over rated garbage with tons of bass.
No sound quality or price info on why you hate them? This quote makes you seem like you hate the headphones because of "black people". Choose your wording a little better on the internet. It could make you seem one way when your not. -
edogawa Reply11615428 said:11615130 said:Good god, I hate beats, I always see black people wearing them too. Over rated garbage with tons of bass.
No sound quality or price info on why you hate them? This quote makes you seem like you hate the headphones because of "black people". Choose your wording a little better on the internet. It could make you seem one way when your not.
Black people are the majority wearing them from my every day observations, I've seen at least 20 black people waring them in the last month alone.
If you thought that was racist, what I said, it's only racist because you made it out to be racist.
This is a comments section, not an article reviewing beat headphones, anyone who uses audiophile headphones should already know beats are garbage trendy fashion products.
I use Audio-Technica, Sennheiser, and Grado headphones, not hyped up inaccurate bass heavy flimsy garbage.
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mcgee101 Would rather purchase a bose headset or speaker system instead. I heard one of the $250 headphone system and yeah I think it is a overpriced sony headset.Reply