Microsoft says buying GitHub for $7.5b

Microsoft on Monday said it will buy software development platform GitHub, in a deal worth $7.5 billion.

The tech giant, based in Washington state, 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 finalized by the end of the year, Microsoft said in a statement on its website.

"GitHub will retain its developer-first ethos and will operate independently to provide an open platform for all developers in all industries," Microsoft said.

“Developers will continue to be able to use the programing languages, tools and operating systems of their choice for their projects - and will still be able to deploy their code to any operating system, any cloud and any device."