Microsoft Acquiring Code Repository Company GitHub For $7.5 Billion

US technology giant Microsoft is buying software development platform GitHub in a deal worth $7.5 billion, said a report in Mint.

San Francisco-based code repository company GitHub, which was created in 2008, allows developers to cooperatively manage software and has more than 28 million users around the world.

"Microsoft is a developer-first company, and by joining forces with GitHub we strengthen our commitment to developer freedom, openness and innovation," Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella said.

The top tech firm said it "will acquire GitHub for $7.5 billion in Microsoft stock", subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory review. The deal is expected to be finalised by the end of the year, Microsoft said.

According to the report, "the acquisition provides a way forward for GitHub, which has yet to make a profit from its popular service that allows coders to share and collaborate on their work".

"For Microsoft, acquiring GitHub is both a return to the company’s earliest roots and a sharp turnaround from where it was a decade ago," said the report.

In 2015, GitHub was valued at $2 billion, making this acquisition a win for the company’s backers Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz.