Microsoft Confirms Github Acquisition at $7.5B

Tech giant Microsoft is all set to acquire GitHub. According to a report by TheVerge, Microsoft officially confirmed it will acquire GitHub. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was a factor in GitHub’s choice for Microsoft as GitHub was impressed by Nadella.

GitHub is a vast code repository which has become popular with developers. It deals with their projects, documentation and code and is used by big companies like Amazon, Google, Apple etc. Microsoft, by far, contributes most to the site. It has more than 1,000 employees who actively push code to repositories on GitHub. Along with pushing code to repositories, Microsoft also hosts its own original Windows File Manager source code on the site. The service was last valued at $2 billion in 2015 and according to TheVerge report, Microsoft will acquire GitHub for $7.5 billion.

Microsoft in recent times has invested in open source technology since Satya Nadella onboard the company as CEO. Microsoft has worked extensively to open source PowerShell, Visual Studio Code, and the Microsoft Edge JavaScript engine. It has undertaken several others ventures – partnered with Cannonical to bring Ubuntu to Windows 10 – and to assist with mobile app development, it even acquired Xamarin. With open-source software, developers are able to tinker with, improve upon and share code.

Microsoft’s GitHub acquisition will bridge the gap between Microsoft’s developer tools and the service which would mean a closer integration between the two. At Microsoft Build last month, Microsoft continued to integrate the service into the company’s App center for developers. The acquisition will also be the second biggest as Microsoft acquired LinkedIn two years ago.

Nat Friedman, CEO and founder of Xamarin will lead GitHub and will report to Microsoft’s Cloud and AI Chief Scott Guthrie. GitHub hosts 27 million software developers working on 80 million repositories of code. There will likely be a lot of questions that open source advocates would have since they are wary of Microsoft’s involvement. If or once the acquisition is announced, it would become easier for the developers to get a better idea of what Microsoft intends to do with GitHub.

Microsoft hasn’t been Developer’s go-to company in recent years.  The company has made some futile business acquisitions in the past which did not pay off for the tech giant – the botched acquisition of Skype and Nokia’s phone business. GitHub itself has faced issues in the past. However, CEO Satya Nadella placed a lot of faith on the acquisition. According to TheVerge, he said, “When it comes to our commitment to open source, judge us by the actions we have taken in the recent past, our actions today, and in the future,” says Nadella, in an attempt to ease concerns around Microsoft’s acquisition.” – Business Today