‘GitHub also spoke to Google about a possible acquisition’

According to CNBC sources, Microsoft was not the only party in talks with GitHub about a potential acquisition. Google also spoke to the company, although Microsoft’s offer would have kept the search giant at a distance.

The talks with Google spanned a period of several weeks, according to various sources with knowledge of the state of affairs to CNBC. In the end, however, Microsoft would have offered a higher amount, which, according to one of the sources, amounted to 25 times GitHub’s revenue. On Monday, it was announced that Microsoft is depositing $7.5 billion in shares for GitHub, which would mean that GitHub’s revenue will be $300 million.

Over the years, GitHub is said to have received multiple takeover requests, including from Amazon, Atlassian and China’s Tencent. One source says GitHub founder Chris Wanstrath was drawn to Microsoft by CEO Satya Nadella because of his focus on open source software. Nadella convinced Wanstrath over the past two years that GitHub would be a good fit for Microsoft. Microsoft is keen to engage developers as it lacks a mobile platform like iOS or Android.

Following the rumors of its acquisition by Microsoft, GitHub alternative GitLab has already reported an influx of imports from GitHub projects. According to information of the company continues this trend and nearly 100,000 projects have now been imported. It remains to be seen whether those projects will actually be transferred permanently.