LOS ANGELES, May 1, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Webxu, Inc, a media company that owns and operates a network of consumer branded websites and businesses focused on Customer Acquisition, E-Commerce and Mobile Media, today announced the acquisition of Auto Finance brand BarNone.

Headquartered in Oakland, CA, BarNone was founded in 1995 for the purpose of helping millions of US consumers with credit challenges obtain auto loans to purchase quality vehicles in a conventional manner. BarNone connects consumers, dealers and lenders into one cohesive unit via proprietary web properties, proprietary lead delivery technologies and a 24-hour call center located in the Midwest. The company earned particular brand notoriety over the last decade with its television commercials that featured the BarNone sock puppet.

“We believe that BarNone is a natural fit with Webxu’s expanding initiatives in the rapidly growing Auto industry,” commented Ike Eze, President of BarNone. “By combining BarNone with Webxu’s management experience in the Auto sector, and their ability to grow organically and through additional acquisitions, we see a tremendous opportunity for rapid revenue expansion in the coming quarters.”

During Q1 2013, Webxu’s planned organic growth strategy included the development and addition of new verticals in the lucrative Auto and Insurance categories of their Customer Acquisition operations. This strategy was planned with macro-economic indicators in mind. The US Auto Industry is recovering and entering into a rapid growth phase. During February 2013, 1.2 million light vehicles were sold in the US. This marked a 14.3 percent increase on January 2013 sales, and a 3.7 percent increase on February 2012 sales. Emarketer projects online advertising spending of the US Auto industry to follow in growth from $4.35 billion in 2012 to $7.44 billion in 2016, an approximate 71 percent increase.

“We are very excited about acquiring BarNone,” said Keith Schaefer, Webxu CEO. “This business brings Webxu more than an additional $1 million annual revenue and great margins in the auto vertical. It also brings a seasoned team, a great consumer brand, and a proprietary technology platform to manage all of our verticals. We are particularly impressed with the company’s direct nationwide advertiser relationships which will give us the opportunity to immediately and exponentially expand our revenue and margin production throughout 2013.”

About BarNone

Headquartered in Oakland, CA, BarNone was founded in 1995 for the purpose of helping millions of US consumers with credit challenges obtain auto loans to purchase quality vehicles in a conventional manner. BarNone connects consumers, dealers and lenders into one cohesive unit via proprietary web properties and a 24-hour call center located in the Midwest. For more information about BarNone, visit http://www.barnone.com.

About Webxu, Inc.

Webxu, Inc. is a media company that owns and operates a network of consumer branded websites and businesses focused on Customer Acquisition, E-Commerce and Mobile Media. Through its branded consumer websites, Webxu generates revenue by providing Advertiser clients with targeted consumer traffic. Webxu is headquartered in Los Angeles, CA. For more information about Webxu, visit http://www.webxu.com.

Webxu Media Contact:
Mike Roth
mike@webxu.com

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SOURCE Webxu, Inc.