Apple buying Beats for $3 billion

Apple is officially buying Beats for $3 billion, just shy of the rumored price leaked a few weeks ago, the companies announced Wednesday.

Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) will pay $2.6 billion up front, plus another $400 million over time. Apple’s getting stylish hardware from Beats Electronics and a streaming service with Beats Music.

The deal is chump change for Apple, which is sitting on a giant mountain of cash: $159 billion as of last year.

Still, many think Apple is wasting its time with Beats. The music streaming service has an estimated 500,000 customers, puny compared to Spotify’s 4 million subscribers. Pandora (P), which is valued by investors at $5.2 billion, has more than 250 million active accounts. Apple could buy 30 Pandoras right now.

Source: CNN Money