Even though Microsoft is investing millions of dollars in Windows Phone, the company is looking at partners not only to see what they’re doing, but also to be able to make the most of every single business opportunity that appears overnight.

This is the case right now with Cyanogen, the company behind the famous CyanogenMod, which is a custom ROM aimed at Android users who are seeking new features and tools for their mobile phones.

It appears that Microsoft itself is interested in purchasing Cyanogen, with a new report revealing that CEO Satya Nadella himself got involved in the talks.

This rumor comes via The Information, which also adds that Microsoft, Amazon, Samsung, and Yahoo officials met recently to discuss business opportunities, with Redmond itself trying to determine whether Cyanogen could become either part of its company or a potential partner.

Even though Microsoft clearly has a chance to take over Cyanogen thanks to its financial power, this doesn’t mean that Redmond is planning to invest in this project or develop its very own smartphones running Android. Instead, Microsoft might be looking at the high-skilled workers that are now part of the Cyanogen team and who could help the company as it struggles to gain more ground in the mobile market.

As for Cyanogen, it all started as an ambitious project created by a few developers who were seeking a better experience from their Android smartphones. Popularity skyrocketed and lots of Android smartphone buyers actually installed this custom ROM, so the developing team decided to found the company intuitively-called Cyanogen Inc. to handle the business.

The value of the company is really hard to estimate, but Microsoft clearly doesn’t want to miss this opportunity, mostly because its rivals in the smartphone business are also hunting the talent behind the project. Of course, Samsung and Amazon are the least-surprising names when it comes to companies involved in possible takeover negotiations, but it remains to be seen whether Microsoft plays its card right and wins the fight.

In the meantime, Microsoft continues development of its own mobile operating system, and sources say that Windows Phone 9 could launch in early 2015 in preview form.

The company has already started work on the Windows 9 product cycle, which is expected to bring some pretty big changes, including a possible merger of the Windows RT and Windows Phone platforms that would lead to the creation of a single operating system running on both tablets and phones.