Facebook $16 Billion IPO Seen as Fuel for Strategic Deals: Tech

Facebook Inc.’s initial public offering will give Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg access to more than $15 billion that may step up the pace and size of acquisitions after a $1 billion deal for Instagram.

Facebook, whose deal efforts are being driven by Amin Zoufonoun, raised $6.84 billion in the IPO yesterday, adding to a $5 billion credit line set up earlier this year and $3.91 billion in cash holdings. The public market makes shares of the social network easier to use as currency for acquisitions after years of being exchanged on thinly traded private markets.