HELSINKI, INDIA: French company Viadeo, which runs a social networking website aimed at professionals, has acquired Canadian peer Unyk, to become the second-largest firm globally after LinkedIn.

Viadeo said on Tuesday it has more than 25 million users after the deal, and its network was growing by more than one million users each month. LinkedIn has 45 million members.

The economic crisis has sparked a spike in use of online social networks as people hedge against losing work and laid-off employees seek jobs.

Viadeo said the deal included 16 million users, a smart address book feature and contact synchronization technology, but did not disclose financial details.

"This acquisition is highly complementary and more than doubles our subscriber base," chief executive Dan Serfaty said in statement.

"We have significantly strengthened our market position and offering, particularly throughout Mexico, Brazil and India," Serfaty said, adding the company now has 4 million users in North America.

Viadeo said it was currently profitable and expected the deal to boost profit in the first year.