Technology giants Apple are hoping to wrap up a $3.2 billion deal to buy Dr Dre's Beats Electronics, according to various media reports. Negotiations are thought to be at an advanced stage and a deal could be confirmed as soon as next week. 

Dr DreDr Dre Is Selling Beats

Should the deal go through, it will be Apple's biggest ever acquisition. It is being seen as a move by Apple to get a stronger foothold in the phone and music accessories market and the company has actually be selling Beats headphones in its stores for some time. 

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James McQuivey, an analyst with Forrester, has questioned the movie, saying there was a big overlap of customers between the two firms.

"This is really puzzling," he said. "You buy companies today to get technologies that no one else or customers that no one has.

"They must have something hidden under the hood."

Beats was founded by Dre and music producer Jimmy Iovine and until recently was best known for his headphones, However, it recently started its own subscription-based music streaming service. 

The reported $3.2 billion is a huge premium on Beats' previous valuation of $1 billion, further pointing towards a more complex deal than is being reported. Last September, the company got a $500 million investment from the Carlyle Group.

Later this year, Dr Dre will launch his Spotify rival 'Daisy' - which he's been developing with the Nine Inch Nails singer Trent Reznor.

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