Beats, a unit of HTC, will purchase MOG a music subscription service say people close to the deal. MOG has had discussions for quite some time with Beats and a deal between the two could become public within the next two weeks. A Beats spokesman would not comment on the discussion.
In February, David Hyman the CEO of MOG denied his company was actively pursuing a buyer. Reports had come out that the company was having a difficult time competing in the music subscription business, which is highly competitive.
MOG has had a total capital infusion of $33 million from different investors and the price of the sale should be higher that said insiders. The company has over 500,000 active users but it is unknown how many are subscribers who have paid. Last fall, the company integrated its service into Facebook. Since that time, over 5,000 new users per day try out the site.
HTC, the world’s fifth largest maker of smartphones, has been trying to integrate music features into their phones. It figures this is a way to differentiate itself from many rivals on both the iPhone and Android platforms. Last year, HTC took a controlling interest in Beats for $300 million.
A spokesman for HTC said the company, based in Taiwan, refuses to comment on speculation and rumors.
