Apple is reportedly looking to acquire the Path social network

Apple and Path are close to a reaching a buyout agreement, according to a new report from PandoDaily. The social network app would likely be built into Apple Messages to some degree, although details remain unknown. Path has a lot of ties to Apple in terms of talent leading all the way up the food chain to CEO Dave Morin, who is a former Apple employee. Morin was spotted sitting up front during the iPhone 6/Apple Watch keynote on Tuesday, a place usually reserved for top Apple executives.

According to a report late Tuesday, Apple is on the verge of announcing an acquisition of social network and corresponding app Path, possibly in a bid to restart a branded platform after the failure of Ping. As reported by Pando Daily, a source with knowledge of the matter claims an agreement between Apple and Path is “essentially a done deal.” The publication cites one person currently working for Apple in unnamed engineering department. Interestingly, the source says Apple is looking to keep Path intact following the rumored buyout, a tactic that strays from the company’s usual M&A tactics. Save for the recent acquisition of Beats, Apple usually performs so-called “acquihires,” or purchases made for talent, not a brand name. The publication speculates that Path may make its way into iOS Messages.