HTC has been putting its money of cash use this month. Tomorrow the company will announce a purchase of the company Beats by Dr. Dre., the consumer audio company that produces headphones that cost up to $600. This purchase marks the continuation of HTC’s $600+ million buying spree this month.
EDIT1: Video added!
The $300 million Beats purchase allows HTC to expand a cooperation that began earlier this year by giving HTC an increased presence in the consumer audio market, and will provide an avenue into high-end audio accessories.
The company ended June with $3.7 billion in its coffers, which explains the rash of acquisitions recently. The Beats purchase comes right after the purchase of mobile cloud service Dashwire for $18.5 million last week. Before that, they purchased S3 graphics for $300 million to acquire S3′s arsenal of patents. In the past month, HTC has spent the better part of a billion dollars to strengthen its position in the market.
Kobe Bryant wears his Beats, uhh - I mean HTC headphones
The purchases make sense, for the most part. Rather than let its cash sit there and gather dust, it’s moving where it needs to in order to position itself for the future. The Beats purchase heightens its image as a high-end electronics company, while the S3 and Dashwire purchases provide it with the capabilities and technology to back that image up.
The press release for the Beats acquisition is below:
HTC AND BEATS BY DR. DRE SET TO
INTRODUCE NEW ERA IN MOBILE AUDIO
Strategic HTC investment to result in Beats-integrated HTC phones this fall
TAOYUAN, Taiwan, and SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Aug. 11, 2011 — HTC Corp., a global designer of mobile devices, today announced a strategic partnership and investment with Beats™ Electronics LLC., the company redefining the audio market with its iconic Beats by Dr. Dre™ audio experience. The two fast-growing brands will focus on bringing high performance sound to HTC phones.
“The HTC and Beats by Dr. Dre partnership is an opportunity for two world-class companies to redefine the smartphone industry and define the future,” said Jimmy Iovine, chairman of Beats by Dr. Dre and chairman and CEO of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, which is a division of Universal Music Group and a stakeholder in Beats. “For Beats by Dr. Dre, this represents a critical step in our continued mission to clean up the destruction of audio caused by the digital revolution and reengineer how sound is delivered, so the consumer feels the music the way that the artist intended.”
HTC and Beats have been working together to create superior mobile audio experiences for consumers, which will result in a line of HTC devices integrated with Beats sound innovations, available this fall.
“Beats has found a unique way to harness popular culture in a manner that is unlike any other brand today,” said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC Corp. “It’s an exciting brand that has been built around providing something very special, and we believe our strategic partnership will provide customers with unbeatable sound on HTC phones. We obsess over every detail of a consumer’s mobile experience, and audio is a critical part of that experience.”
HTC is known for unifying content, services and devices into unique mobile experiences. And Beats is known for its unique consumer brand appeal and ability to reproduce the full spectrum of sound captured in professional recording studios, allowing consumers to hear music the way the artist intended. Bringing these two great brands together will create superior mobile music and sound experiences while accelerating HTC’s entry into the youth and accessories markets globally.
Beats Electronics will continue to operate autonomously — with Iovine as chairman and Luke Wood as president and chief operating officer — with its current business partnerships, including Monster Cable Products Inc., HP and Chrysler Group LLC. Iovine also will continue serving as chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M Records.
“Our customers have clearly responded to Beats and HTC, and Best Buy is proud to feature their products in our stores,” said Brian J. Dunn, CEO, Best Buy. “We are committed to offering innovative and entertaining technologies that help consumers enhance their lives. Our customers expect that from us. The unique HTC Sense experience and the great sound of Beats provide prime examples of that focus.”
About Beats Electronics LLC.
Established in 2006, Beats Electronics is the brainchild of legendary artist and producer Dr. Dre and chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M Records Jimmy Iovine, who set out to develop a new type of headphone with the capability to reproduce the full spectrum of sound that musical artists and producers hear in professional recording studios. For more information, please visit http://beatsbydre.com.
About HTC
HTC Corp. (HTC) is one of the fastest-growing companies in the mobile phone industry. By putting people at the center of everything it does, HTC creates innovative devices that better serve the lives and needs of individuals. The company is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange under ticker 2498. For more information about HTC, please visit www.htc.com.
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