Apple acquires Dr. Dre's Beats brand for $3bn

Apple has acquired headphone manufacturer Beats Electronics - the company part-owned by hip hop mogul Dr. Dre - for $3bn, after carrying out its largest ever acquisition.

As part of the terms of the deal Dr. Dre will join the board of Apple alongside his Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine. Apple will pay $2.6b initially for the business, with $400m paid over time. The takeover is expected to be completed by the end of September. Apple said it intended to keep Beats as a stand alone brand within the firm. The huge takeover - the group's largest ever deal - indicates a change of tack for Apple, which has previously only targeted smaller niche players. Previously, its largest deal had been the $400m takeover of Steve Jobs' firm NeXT back in 2007. It a...