Update: Microsoft has confirmed it will be buying GitHub for $7.5bn.
The acquisition is set to close before the end of 2018. The announcement says that GitHub will retain its "developer-first" mentality and operate independently from Microsoft.
CEO Chris Wanstrath will become a Microsoft technical fellow and will report to EVP Scott Guthrie.
“Microsoft is a developer-first company, and by joining forces with GitHub we strengthen our commitment to developer freedom, openness and innovation,” said Microsoft chief Satya Nadella. “We recognize the community responsibility we take on with this agreement and will do our best work to empower every developer to build, innovate and solve the world’s most pressing challenges.”
Wanstrath added: “I’m extremely proud of what GitHub and our community have accomplished over the past decade, and I can’t wait to see what lies ahead. The future of software development is bright, and I’m thrilled to be joining forces with Microsoft to help make it a reality. Their focus on developers lines up perfectly with our own, and their scale, tools and global cloud will play a huge role in making GitHub even more valuable for developers everywhere.”
Original story: It sure looks like Microsoft is buying code focused-website GitHub.
Business Insider and CNBC have spoken to sources claiming that Microsoft has been in talks with GitHub in the last few weeks, with the aim being either an acquisition or an investment.
Neither company has decided to comment on the story, but Bloomberg reports that Microsoft has indeed agreed to buy GitHub, with more details coming out as early as today.
Not much is known about the deal just yet.
What this deal would mean for GitHub is unclear, though surely it will be part of Microsoft's strategy of courting developers. It has previously done this with its Cloud Gaming business. There's even speculation that it will use GitHub to drive adoption of its rival to other cloud services, like that of Amazon's.
GitHub launched a decade ago in 2008 and has becoming the widest used code repository hosting service in the world.
