Apple Confirms It Will Buy Beats For $3 Billion

Apple has confirmed it's intention to purchase Beats Electronics for $3 billion. The acquisition ranks as the largest that Apple has ever made and will see it take ownership of an enormously successful and profitable line of consumer headphones.

Beats co-founders Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre will also join Apple as part of the acquisition, which it will pay for with $2.6 billion in cash and $400 million in stock.

According to The New York Times, the Beats brand will remain separate from Apple's. Apple will offer both Beats’s streaming music service and its premium headphones.

Speaking about the acquisition Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO said in a statement.  “Music is such an important part of all of our lives and holds a special place within our hearts at Apple, That’s why we have kept investing in music and are bringing together these extraordinary teams so we can continue to create the most innovative music products and services in the world.”