Microsoft finally acquires iOS, Android dev tool vendor

Microsoft has acquired mobile app development tool vendor Xamarin, two years after speculation of a deal first surfaced.

Xamarin makes development tools that allow iOS, Android and Windows mobile software to be created with the C# programming language, plus a test platform that supports different languages.

The company’s products were already integrated with Microsoft VIsual Studio, Azure, Office 365 and Enterprise Mobility Suite, according to Seeking Alpha. Xamarin’s tools assist Microsoft’s campaign to increase the developer pool for its mobile environments.

The value of the buyout was not disclosed.

CRN USA first reported in March 2014 that a Microsoft was in the “final stages of negotiations” with Xamarin about an acquisition.

Microsoft announced that Xamarin currently has more than 15,000 customers and a pool of 1.3 million app developers. According to Seeking Alpha, Xamarin’s most prominent customers include Honeywell, Kellogg's, Flipboard, NBCUniversal and Microsoft itself.