Beats By Carlyle

On Friday, Beats By Dre parent company Beats Electronics received a hefty investment in the amount of $500 million from Washington based private equity company Carlyle Group. This move will allow for the global expansion of both companies, as well as strengthen product development moving forward.

The $500 million investment brings Beats Electronics (co-founded by Dr. Dre and Interscope chairman Jimmy Iovine) value to excess of $1 billion. The Carlyle Group currently stands as the second largest investment company in the world with over $180 billion in assets. The deal will be finalized by the end of the year. 

The deal is made in conjunction with Beats purchasing back 25% of the HTC Group’s stake in the company. Beats Electronics is currently looking to expand its senior management, which currently consists of Dr. Dre, Jimmy Iovine, and president Luke Wood.

With the success that Beats by Dre this move only positions the company to expand its reach and become more of a global brand. Beats currently owns more than half of the total market for headphones over $100 (56%), and at the end of last year released two new products; the Beats Pill, a wireless speaker with built in Beats by Dre speakers, and the executive headphones. 

With the new investment made by Carlyle and the search for more senior management, Beats by Dre is positioning itself to strengthen their control over the premium headphone market. The brand has exhibited consistency in its products since its early beginnings and the sky’s the limit for the next level of Beats by Dre products. Be on the lookout for another big year for the Beats by Dre brand coming in the next year.