Facebook Inc. raised $16 billion in the biggest initial publicoffering by a technology company in history, pricing the shares atthe top end of an increased range.

The social network, led by 28-year-old Mark Zuckerberg, sold421.2 million shares at $38 each, data compiled by Bloomberg show.This week, Menlo Park, California-based Facebook expanded the IPOto meet demand, allowing backers Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and AccelPartners to reap more gains.

The offering marks the culmination of Facebook's evolution inless than a decade from a Harvard University dorm-room project intoa social network with more than 900 million users. While Zuckerbergpersuaded investors to buy the shares at a higher price-to-earningsmultiple than almost every company in the Standard & Poor's 500Index, he now faces stemming slowing sales growth after profit fell12 percent last quarter.