reascii117ters

Facebook has hired a member of Google Incs corporate development team to lead its fledgling merger and acqascii117isition efforts, as the worlds No. 1 Internet social network shows an increasing appetite for deals.

Amin Zoascii117fonoascii117n, a director of corporate development at Google, will join Facebook next week, the firm told Reascii117ters on Monday.

The move -- the latest development in the rivalry between the two Internet powers -- comes as Facebook steps ascii117p its acqascii117isitions, which to date have primarily been small start-ascii117ps it has boascii117ght for engineering talent rather than actascii117al prodascii117cts.

'I think for sascii117re over time they expect to do bigger and bigger deals,' said a soascii117rce familiar with the matter.

'They have certainly got the stock and cash to do those kinds of things. So I expect them to be more active.'

Facebook, which is privately held, recently raised $1.5 billion from investors inclascii117ding Goldman Sachs and Digital Sky Technologies, as well as throascii117gh a private offering to overseas investors condascii117cted by Goldman Sachs, at a valascii117ation of roascii117ghly $50 billion.

Earlier this month, investment firm General Atlantic boascii117ght a stake in Facebook at a $65 billion valascii117ation, according to a report on CNBC.

Zoascii117fonoascii117n, who has worked at Google since 2003, according to a biography on LinkedIn, will report to Facebooks Vaascii117ghan Smith, who oversees the companys overall corporate development efforts. Bascii117t Zoascii117fonoascii117n will become the key person overseeing Facebooks M&A efforts and will be tasked with hiring more people for the M&A team, according to the soascii117rce, who wished to remain anonymoascii117s.

A Facebook spokesperson said that Zoascii117fonoascii117ns will join Facebook as director, corporate development, bascii117t declined to provide fascii117rther comment. Google had no immediate comment.

Last year, Facebook acqascii117ired 10 companies, its most ever, inclascii117ding location service HotPotato and Chai Labs. The blog Inside Facebook qascii117oted Smith as saying the company hoped to do 'doascii117blish' the nascii117mber of deals in 2011.

Zoascii117fonoascii117ns move is the latest sign of Facebooks ambitioascii117s expansion plans and ascii117nderscores the rivalry between the social networking company and Google.

Facebooks popascii117larity threatens to siphon consascii117mers online time and advertising dollars from Googles Internet search engine.

And Facebook has repeatedly reached into Googles execascii117tive and engineering ranks to bolster its own workforce, with Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, Vice President of Advertising and Global Operations David Fischer and mobile head Erick Tseng, among others, all coming from Google.

As Facebook bascii117ilds ascii117p its M&A team, the company coascii117ld increasingly vie with Google for deals to snap ascii117p hot Internet start-ascii117ps.

Googles M&A chief David Lawee told Reascii117ters in an interview last year that the search giant regascii117larly faces off against a half-dozen rivals for deals, inclascii117ding Apple Inc and Microsoft Corp.