Orange buys British digital ad network Unanimis

LONDON Aug 28 (Reuters) - France Telecom's (FTE.PA) mobile telecommunications brand Orange has bought British digital ad network Unanimis, the two companies said on Friday.

The two companies declined to disclose financial details of the deal.

Orange said the purchase would boost its mobile and online advertising revenues.

"We are now at a critical size to become a leading player," said Luc Tran Thang, the vice president of Orange Advertising Network.

Orange said in a statement that Unanimis is the UK's largest exclusive digital advertising network with such website brands as Ticketmaster and had 21.7 million pounds in revenue at the end of its 2008 fiscal year.

Online advertising is expected to account for 27 percent of total advertising spending in the United Kingdom in 2011 comperd with 19 percent in 2007.

The online advertising market in western Europe was worth an estimated 12 billion euros in 2008, with the UK as Europe's largest market with a 31 percent share, Orange said.

Thang declined to say how much digital advertising generated in sales for Orange.

By 2012, "the Group's overall ambition to drive revenues from 9 percent to 20 percent in new growth areas, of which advertising is a key strand", Orange said. (Reporting by Nicola Leske; editing by Karen Foster)