• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, June 15, 2007

Further expanding its digital breadth worldwide, Publicis Groupe yesterday announced plans to buy a 49% stake in French digital shop Business Interactif for $182 million.

Per the deal, Business Interactif will join Digitas, which Publicis picked up earlier this year for $1.3 billion in an effort to remain competitive in an increasingly digital advertising world.

Digitas Chairman and CEO David Kenny on Thursday discussed the Business Interactif deal in the context of his agency's larger global ambitions.

"We are taking some very decisive steps at the moment, implementing our international strategy, and rolling out our brand on a global scale," said Kenny.

"Concrete results include taking on global digital assignments for clients, recruiting several strong leaders, stronger analytic and operational ties to the major digital media companies, as well as today's announcement of the acquisition of Business Interactif."

Business Interactif, which has about 270 employees, operates in three areas: search engine optimization, email marketing, and a core agency business with lots of luxury products.

Earlier this month, Kenny said he expected Digitas to grow by 40% to 50% in the next two years, and was expecting to open offices within the next 18 months in the top eight to 10 markets worldwide through organic growth and acquisition.

To accelerate this effort, Digitas also snagged Unilever's vice president of global media Alan Rutherford to be CEO of Digitas Global, a new division charged with leading the agency's expansion into new markets worldwide.

"We have great buzz and people want to be part of the network," Kenny said.

Founded in 1996, Business Interactif offers a full range of digital services to clients that include L'Oréal, Nestlé, Lancome, and The International Olympic Committee. The agency presently employs a staff of 250.

Expressing his satisfaction with the Digitas purchase, Publicis chairman and CEO Maurice Levy earlier this month declared his interest in additional digitally focused acquisitions.

"We are targeting acquisitions, notably in health, technology and interactive advertising," Levy said during Publicis' annual shareholder meeting, Reuters reported. "We will also look for acquisitions to complement our offerings in some markets."

Reiterating that sentiment on Thursday, Levy said: "The acquisition of Digitas at the beginning of the year was a major strategic turning point for our Groupe, and this repositioning has increased our momentum towards the digital revolution."