Beats by Dre Wants to Part Ways with HTC

Beats by Dre

Beats by DreThe maker of the popular Beats by Dr. Dre headphones is looking to buy out its Asian partner and bring in a new investor that can provide it with fresh funds for growth, people familiar with the matter said. The moves come as the founders of Beats Electronics LLC—music mogul Jimmy Iovine and American hip-hop producer and artist Andre Young, better known as Dr. Dre—are broadening the company’s business from headphones to include speakers, audio systems in cars and consumer electronics and a soon-to-be-launched online streaming music service. It also comes only a couple of months after the company shelved a separate deal that would have raised hundreds of millions of dollars in cash for acquisitions and investments, as well as allowing the founders to be paid a dividend without giving up their controlling interest in Beats Electronics.

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