Beats has had enough: it’s walking out of its relationship with HTC and buying back the 25 percent stake currently held by smartphone manufacturer.
HTC ponied up $300 million back in 2011 for a 50.1 percent stake in Beats. Then, the headphone manufacturer paid $150 million to buy back 25 percent last year. Today, it takes back full control for an extra $265 million.
It’s unclear what the future now holds for the pair: while HTC says Beats will remain an important partners, the headphone manufacturer hasn’t bothered to make any noises in agreement. WIth HTC’s profits dwindling and Beats’ performing strongly, it could be the end of all that audio branding being splashed over the back of the Taiwanese handsets. Thank goodness. [Dow Jones via Engadget]
