It is unclear as to why Amazon did not go through with their acquisition, or if maybe they did make an offer except that Apple’s offer might have been more tempting. Unsurprisingly neither Amazon, Apple, nor Texture offered any comments with regards to the report, but Amazon’s interest shouldn’t be too surprising.
About four years ago, Amazon acquired comics distribution platform ComiXology, so for Amazon to be interested in magazines doesn’t seem like a stretch. Amazon later introduced ComiXology Unlimited which allowed users unlimited access to comics for a monthly fee, which once again is similar to what Texture was offering, so it is possible that Amazon was looking for another business to complement ComiXology.
In any case we guess we’ll never know what really happened, and with that being said, it is also unclear as to what Apple has planned for Texture. Some are saying it will be part of Apple News, but given Apple’s penchant for shuttering services after acquiring them, we wouldn’t be surprised if Texture were to be given the same treatment as well.