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Big week for Facebook and Menlo Park

by Sandy Brundage

Instead of chatting on Facebook, a lot of people were talking about Facebook last week. The social networking giant debuted its public stock offering on May 18, with initial shares trading at $42.05 on NASDAQ, up from its IPO price of $38. But it closed close to the IPO price, and on Monday traded below that price.

Menlo Park, as the home of Facebook's new headquarters on 1 Hacker Way, saw its name in newspapers around the world as one of the biggest global events ever to happen in a town that prides itself on "village character" unfolded. According to CNNMoney, going public stands to raise at least $16 billion for Facebook, making it the largest tech IPO and third largest IPO in the United States.

Some of that wealth will flow back into Menlo Park. The city recently approved an agreement related to Facebook's planned campus expansion that will generate $8.5 million total in graduated payments during the next 10 years, and followed by $5 million during the subsequent four years, as well as funding for community and infrastructure improvements.

Facebook employees celebrated in their traditional manner by holding an all-night Hackathon that started on Thursday. Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg followed up taking the company public with a more personal milestone, marrying longtime girlfriend Priscilla Chan in a small ceremony at the couple's Palo Alto home on Saturday, May 19.