According to a recent The Next Web report, Apple is acquiring the Color Labs startup which - founded by Bill Nguyen and Peter Pham - is a photo and video-sharing social network that debuted in 2011 as a photo-sharing app for Apple's iOS and Google's Android mobile OS.

As per the report, citing unidentified "trusted sources," Apple's acquisition deal for Color Labs is "done", even though the two companies are yet to sign the agreement papers officially. The sources have also revealed that Apple is paying a "high double digits" for the Color Labs acquisition; thus hinting at a multi-million dollar deal.

The Next Web's reports about Apple's acquisition of Color Labs comes close on the heels of a recent report that Apple has apparently worked out a takeover deal for purchasing media consultancy group Particle, which is backed by Justin Timberlake.

The Color Labs acquisition report comes at a time when then there have been rumors, of late, about the startup pulling the shutters on its operations, following criticism of the association between Nguyen and the board of directors of the company. However, the Color Labs' representatives have been asserting that the company plans to stay up and functioning.

Meanwhile, about Apple's `Color Labs acquisition' decision, the speculations put forth in The Next Web report indicate that the Apple's move is apparently aimed at acquiring the startup's intellectual property which includes "one for a file format that they were working on to record HD video."