Google has paid $1 billion to buy a large business park near its Mountain View, California, headquarters, according to a Mercury News report on Monday.
The business park Google will acquire in the deal is larger than the Googleplex headquarters located a few blocks away, according to the report. The land parcel is also larger than the Google's planned "Charleston East" campus that will feature futuristic domes and canopies.
The deal is the latest big-ticket real-estate purchase by Google and parent company Alphabet, as the internet giant's aggressive expansion plans swell its headcount. As of September 30, Alphabet had 94,372 employees, an increase of roughly 16,000 employees from one year ago.
And with more than $100 billion worth of cash and short-term securities on its balance sheet, Alphabet can afford to go on a real-estate shopping spree.
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The $1 billion purchase is the largest Bay Area real-estate deal in 2018 and second largest in the US to only Google's $2.4 billion acquisition of Chelsea Market in Manhattan, New York, according to the report.
Google's newest land acquisition, known as Mountain View's Shoreline Technology Park, is a 51.8-acre site with 12 buildings. Currently, the only other tenant besides Google is Alexza Pharmaceuticals.
Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.