A monster deal slips by

Apple’s $3.2 billion acquisition of Beats, a luxury headphone maker and music-streaming service, is about to make its founders (rapper Dr. Dre and music producer Jimmy Iovine) billionaires. Yet, the man who helped design the first pair of Beats headphones will be shut out.

Noel and his son Kevin Lee worked with Monster, the audio company that was responsible for creating the headphones. However, in 2011 Monster inked a deal that cut it out of the company after Beats sold a 51 per cent stake to HTC.

Commenting on the deal, Monster’s CEO Noel Lee said, “What a deal for Jimmy and Dre! Now I’m thinking of what this means for Monster’s valuation.” Even after the split from Beats in 2011, Monster continued to create headphones. Ultimately, he said although that he has no regrets, he does wish that his company had gotten more out of the relationship.

“I feel that we weren’t recognised,” he said. “We got erased from the history of Beats. We were the founders. Most of the public is not even aware of Monster’s participation and that the company went on to bigger and better things.”