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Politics : Sioux Nation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sea Otter who wrote (203576)	2/8/2011 2:18:16 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 361717

Facebook to Move Into New Silicon Valley HQ online.wsj.com By SCOTT MORRISON THE WALL STREET JOURNAL Feb. 8, 2011 Facebook Inc. has leased a nine-building Silicon Valley office campus to serve as its new headquarters, the latest indication of the social network's phenomenal growth. Facebook said it will start moving into its new Menlo Park, Calif., digs, the former headquarters of Sun Microsystems, starting in June or July, roughly two years after moving to its current location in neighboring Palo Alto, Calif. The move comes as Facebook continues to hire new workers, attract more users and increase its advertising revenue as it stares down competition from search giant Google Inc. and micro-blogging service Twitter Inc. Facebook Chief Financial Officer David Ebersman said the company has been increasing its headcount by about 50% a year over the past few years and would continue to hire employees this year. He didn't provide any targets. Mr. Ebersman said Facebook has leased the property for 15 years and has an option to buy it after five years. The campus occupies 57 acres and contains nine buildings totaling about 1 million square feet. Facebook also purchased an adjacent 22-acre tract that is connected to the campus by a tunnel under an expressway, for possible future development as a subsequent expansion phase. Financial terms weren't disclosed, but company executives said no tax breaks were granted by Menlo Park. Facebook, which has more than 500 million users and more than 2,000 employees, last month said it raised $1.5 billion through investments and a private share offering led by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The investment pegged Facebook's valuation at $50 billion. The company at the time said it had no immediate plans for the funds, but that it would continue investing to build and expand its operations. Meanwhile, Google on Tuesday leased the Frank Gehry-designed "binoculars building" in Venice, Calif., which would form the centerpiece of a new Los Angeles region campus. The 100,000-square-foot campus is part of Google's recently announced growth initiative, which will see the company add more than 6,000 employees this year.