Breaking: Best Buy to Acquire Napster

Reuters is reporting that Best Buy, one of the nation’s largest consumer electronics retailers, said on Monday that it is buying Napster, the struggling online and mobile music company, for $121 million, in a move that could shake up the digital music market as competitors scramble to catch Apple.

In a public statement, the companies said the proposed acquisition includes Napster’s approximately 700,000 subscribers, its Web-based customer service and mobile capabilities, according to the report.

For now, Best Buy said that it plans to leave Napster’s 140 employees in their current Los Angeles-based office. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter, the report said, and that for now, Napster will hold off on its annual meeting to shareholders as a result of the announcement.

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