image: Apple

Apple paid at least $485 million for magazine subscription service Texture — one that’s the foundation of its recently unveiled News+ subscription service — according to a piece from the New York Post. The paper says Apple paid $100 million upfront to four media publishers — Meredith, Hearst, Rogers in Canada, and Condé Nast (who collaborated to launch Texture) — and private equity backer KKR, with a further $145 million minimum payment due for the first year and a minimum of $240 million due for the second and third years.

The NY Post also said that Texture — which Apple has said it will shut down — had about 240,000 subscribers as at the time of acquisition. Apple is replacing it with its news subscription service that provides access to more than 300 popular magazines. The company has signed up popular media names like The Atlantic, Entertainment Weekly, Sports Illustrated, The New Yorker, Food & Wine, The Cut, Grub Street, Real Simple, ravel + Leisure, and Woman’s Day.

“Apple News+ validates the power of premium content from great and trusted brands, and being a part of it makes good business sense,” Meredith CEO Tom Harty said when the service was unveiled late March. “Apple News+ will be an extremely valuable mass platform to attract new paid subscribers to our titles.”

Apple’s News subscription service is available in the U.S. and Canada where it costs $9.99 a month and $12.99 a month respectively.

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