Facebook opening first office in Israel

In this March 15, 2013 file photo, a Facebook employee walks past a sign at Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif. Facebook Inc. said Thursday Oct. 10, 2013, that it is removing a setting that controls whether users could be found when people type their name into the website's search bar. (AP / Jeff Chiu)

JERUSALEM -- Facebook says it is acquiring an Israeli mobile technology startup and opening its first office in Israel.

Facebook said in a statement Monday that Israeli mobile utility application developer Onavo would help the social media giant create better mobile products and help connect more people around the world to the Internet.

Onavo was founded three years ago and produces technology that compresses content so mobile users can use more data. The Tel Aviv-based company also has an office in California.

Israeli media reported that Facebook is buying the company for more than $100 million and that it was Facebook's largest acquisition of an Israeli company. Facebook declined comment.

Facebook has bought two Israeli companies in recent years, but employees were transferred to Facebook's U.S. headquarters.