Has Apple acquired Beats? The announcement has been rumored for this week but so far we have yet to hear anything. The question is, even if it did happen, will we learn about it? In a report by AppleInsider, it seems that even if the deal were to be finalized this week, there is a good chance Apple might not announce it. They are basing this on SEC rules which allows companies to choose whether they want to disclose their acquisitions, although this will depend on certain criteria, such as how significant the acquisition is to the company.
Apple has rarely issued press releases trumpeting new acquisitions since the landmark 1997 deal for NeXT that brought Steve Jobs back into the fold, and the company’s now-massive size could help it continue its silence even with a rumored $3.2 billion deal for Beats Electronics. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the regulatory body that makes the rules for publicly-traded companies, requires the public disclosure of any “significant” acquisition activity by a regulated company. For most companies contemplating a $3.2 billion acquisition, that disclosure would take the guise of a press release and the filing of form 8-K with the SEC. Apple, however, is not most companies.
