The Apple-Beats deal was supposed to be announced soon according to numerous publications, and now the NY Post is throwing their hat into the mix.
According to their sources, the $3.2 billion number—first reported by the Financial Times—has been reduced after Apple did its due diligence, which probably wasn’t helped by the fact Dr. Dre supposedly leaked the deal in a video online, and a later report noting Beats Music only has 111,000 subscribers.
Sources tell the NY Post:
“Apple hadn’t even begun its due diligence process when news of the number came out,”
[…]
“Apple doesn’t have a streaming music business so it would be a nice instant get, but the hardware is the profitable business,”
Both Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine are said to take up senior roles at Apple following the acquisition, possibly debuting at next week’s 2014 WWDC. Iovine’s music connections and Beats Music is said to be the quickest way for Apple to launch into the music subscription market, a move reportedly advocated by music labels.
Who knows when this deal will actually be known. If anything, expect it to come at WWDC next week as that would be the most opportune time for a big deal to go down.
