Beats by DRE and HTC part ways

 Beats and HTC part ways, but mobile exclusivity will continue 

Today HTC and Beats have taken another step apart in their partnership, as Beats have purchased back some of the shares they sold to HTC last year.

Beats execs once again have a controlling interest in their own company, as HTC have agreed to sell them back half of the shares purchased in last years acquisition. Beats now have 75% of the shares, while the remaining roughly 25% still belong to HTC.

This news does not come as a surprise, considering HTC CEO Martin Fichter told CNET this past April that headphones are not a deciding factor when purchasing smartphones. Since that time, no premium Beats headsets have come bundled with new HTC devices – although the Beats equalizer options have been included – most notably in the new HTC One series.

This trend is likely to continue, as HTC and Beats have not completely cut ties, at least for the time being. The two companies have announced that Beats audio enhancements will continue to be exclusive to HTC, with a joint marketing campaign in the works for later this year.

According to HTC, the readjustment of shares is aimed at giving Beats more freedom to expand globally. It’s still too early to speculate whether this expansion will continue to include HTC as a major shareholder or not.