Facebook poaches Google exec to go on M&A hunt

Google's corporate development director has reportedly been scooped up by Facebook, in a move to help the social network beef up its mergers and acquisitions portfolio.

Amin Zoufonoun worked at Google since 2003, but according to Reuters he's taken a job with Facebook and will be sitting behind his new office desk next week.

The report noted that Zoufonoun's bolt to Facebook could see the company compete more directly with Google for engineering talent and tech products.

"I think for sure over time they expect to do bigger and bigger deals," a source familiar with the matter told the newswire.

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

However, Zoufonoun, who is the inventor of several Google patent filings, is yet to update his LinkedIn page to confirm the status of his job change.

During his time at Google, Zoufonoun headed up several Mountain View buyouts, including the purchase of On2 Technologies, Widevine and FeedBurner.

Facebook confirmed to Reuters that it had hired Zoufonoun, but Google didn't immediately comment on the defection. ®