The key paragraph from the post RE:Mono is:

"we’ll make .NET Core great for Windows, Linux and Mac OSX. This also enables the Mono community to innovate on top of the leaner .NET Core stack as well as taking it to environments that Microsoft isn’t interested in."

Seems like a pretty clear split - MS will cover the server-side + Win UIs, while Xamarin handles the other plats (IOS, Android, PS4 etc).

This plays to the strengths of both companies, and I would not be surprised if MS has some security in place - e.g. some kind of first option to buy Xamarin should another suitor come calling.

I doubt they would want to directly compete with someone who is 100% focused at that market and is already in a partnership with Microsoft. It just doesn't make any sense for them.

tbh I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft just flat out bought Xamarin eventually.

Yeah, I was hoping they would pick them up sooner rather than later. I really like working with Xamarin, I am able to work in C# and share >75% of my code between iOS and Android but I am hamstrung using it on my own projects and it can be a hard sell to use it on commercial projects.

I don't see why they would, if they wanted to be in the IOS/Android developer marketplace they have the clout to enter it without buying Xamarin.

It is odd that they havent bought them already. At this point I guess they will be much cheaper, as there will be no other potential buyers.

"I suppose the Xamarin guys need to eat but it's kind of disappointing they are not directly targeting iOS and Android".

Exactly! Clue #1: full Android emulator/debugger built into VS2015. Clue #2: Rosylyn and .NET native. Clue #3: Carving up .NET core into separate chunks for smaller deployments.

Maybe Xamarin was just a beta test for the real thing?