Microsoft Corp buys ACORD

“Microsoft Corporation stunned the insurance technology industry today with the announcement that it has agreed in principle to purchase the full assets of ACORD, the insurance data standards body headquartered in Pearl River, N.Y.
Terms of the anticipated purchase were not disclosed.
"The purchase of this industry-wide standards body is just the latest step in our strategy to evangelize the computing world,” said Bill Hartnett, Microsoft’s Insurance Industry Evangelist. “When we see a new standard emerging, we want it to fall under the .NET unmbrella ASAP. To have a whole industry under our already considerable sway is, well, thrilling, even if we are talking about insurance.” …..via Insurance Tech Guru