(Associated Press via NewsEdge) Google is buying its Silicon Valley headquarters for $319 million in a deal covering the Internet search leader's nerve center -- a cluster of buildings revered in high-tech circles as the 'Googleplex.'
The company disclosed the purchase from four commercial real estate companies in Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
Google wants to close the sale by the end of the month.
Since Google began renting its current headquarters in 2003, the property, located near a former garbage dump, has evolved into a technology temple renowned for hiring some of the world's smartest engineers and pampering its employees with perquisites that include free meals around the clock.
The nearly 1-million-square-foot headquarters also has turned into a wealthy enclave, thanks to Google's high-flying stock.
Google's prosperity contrasts sharply with the previous occupants, Silicon Graphics.
The maker of high-powered computers vacated the premises to save money as its revenue plunged and is now trying to reorganize under bankruptcy court protection.
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