According to reports, VerSe Innovation, the parent firm of online news aggregator Dailyhunt and short-video platform Josh has acquired New York-based digital magazine store Magzter.

Magzter, a local newsstand with a library of over 8,500 premium magazines and newspapers, was launched in 2011 and now operates globally. The deal, the financials of which were not disclosed, marks Dailyhunts foray into premium content.

“The deal is a cash-and-stock transaction,” says cofounder Umang Bedi.

“The Bengaluru-based startup has also launched Dailyhunt Premium, a subscription-based offering that will provide users access to premium content from international publishers in over 60 languages from Magzter as well as make the app ads-free for a paying user,” adds Bedi.

A significant change in Dailyhunt's revenue model is marked by the acquisition. Magazines available on Magzter include Time, Newsweek, Fortune, The Economist, Forbes, Reader's Digest, Cosmopolitan, Vogue, Maxim, Elle, Vanity Fair, New Yorker, and Bazaar across domestic and international editions.

Currently, a three-year subscription to Magzter retails at an offer price of Rs 3,999 in India. Over 8,500 magazines can be browsed and accessed by users. In the first year, users can access all content, but from the second year onwards, the accessibility is capped at five magazines and newspapers each month.

“We're doing 100 percent acquisition of a US-based company, which will run as a subsidiary of VerSe, with both founders retained. The thinking is similar to how Facebook and Instagram came together. Look at the valuation of Facebook back then in 2012 and look at the valuation of Instagram. One plus one put together a combined new valuation of the company,” says Bedi.