Microsoft reportedly in talks to acquire mobile development company Xamarin

Microsoft is considering acquiring or investing in mobile start up Xamarin, according to reports.

Xamarin’s development tools enable .NET developers to write apps that run natively on iOS, Android and Windows. The tools are based on Microsoft's C# programming language.

An acquisition would mean that Microsoft developers could code iOS and Android apps using the company’s Visual Studio offering.

This would mean a change in strategy for the Redmond-based company under new CEO Satya Nadella.

The company would effectively be encouraging developers to build apps for not just Windows 8 and Windows Phone, but other platforms as well.

“This would definitely be a big statement from Nadella, and could be the beginning of a really big strategy shift for Microsoft," Scott Stanfield, CEO of Vertigo Software, a California-based Microsoft development partner, told CRN.

"It would almost be like a gift to the .NET community -- Microsoft would be saying, sorry we aren't stronger in mobile, but now we're going to make it so developers can play in both worlds," he added to CRN.

The two companies first announced a partnership in November 2013 to bring together Xamarin's cross-platform developer tools and Microsoft's MSDN developer programme.

Miguel de Icaza, Xamarin's cofounder, recently Tweeted that: “Working together with Microsoft’s .NET team in the last four months has been an absolute delight. So excited about the future.”

This news comes ahead of Microsoft’s Build conference, which is taking place in April in San Francisco.