All is not well in paradise, as the big headphone maker Beats is reportedly seeking to buy back HTC’s 25 percent stake in the company. According to a Wall Street Journal report that cites “people familiar with the matter” as claiming Beats is looking to bring in a new investor to provide “fresh funds for growth,” and on top of that plans on buying back HTC’s venture as well. In 20011 HTC bought a $300 million, 50.1 percent stake in Beats and last year the headphone maker paid $150 million to take half of that stake back.
Fortunes reversed
By the time HTC bought the shares in Beats, the company was not doing well off back in 2010, as its revenue was reported
“Roughly $1 billion” last year, up fivefold from 2010. In a twist of “events”, HTC has crashed with tapering profits, although the company believes it will return to form towards the end of this financial year. For those who use or have seen all HTC’s high-end phones, they are branded with the Beats logo and claim to have enhanced sound thanks to Beats integration. I can see an HTC “BOOM SOUND” logo (if any) replaces the Beats logo incase all turns out as this report depicts.
Source: Wall Street Journal
