NEW YORK, N.Y. – Barnebys, the Swedish-based online search and valuation tool for fine artworks, antiques and collectibles, has concluded a fundraising effort by attracting 4 million euros (about $4.5 million) in new investment capital from Industrifonden, ACTIVE Venture Partners and Inbox Capital. The capital will be used primarily to ensure the company's continued success in the US.

Barnebys is already an auction aggregator powerhouse throughout Europe and Scandinavia. Founded in 2011 by Swedish businessmen and entrepreneurs Christopher Barnekow and Pontus Silfverstolpe, the company has made entering the U.S. market a top priority for the coming year and beyond.

“Industrifonden is very excited about the strong position Barnebys has built in the fast-growing market for online auctions,” said Hadar Cars of Swedish-based Industrifonden, Barnebys' lead investor. “The company is delivering an excellent experience for the end user and highly relevant traffic for auction houses. We're happy to have led Barnebys' latest investment round, to secure the continued international roll-out, including the strengthening of the US presence.”

“This is a very exciting moment as we partner with Barnebys on its journey to success,” said Ricard Söderberg of ACTIVE Venture Partners. “Barnebys is the number one site in the world to find a piece of art, an antiquity or a collectible. Moving forward, we anticipate seeing new services being launched that will make Barnebys a truly indispensable tool in the auction house world.”

This autumn, Barnebys signed up an average two new auction houses per day worldwide. The highest increases took place in the US. Great growth was also posted in the UK, Germany and France, which already has agreements with 60 auction houses. Clients in the United States include Sotheby's, Paddle 8, Phillips, Crescent City Auction Gallery, Neal Auction Gallery, Heritage Auctions and many others.

As the world's leading auction search service (or aggregator), Barnebys features, at any given time, over a half million items for sale through about 1,000 auction houses worldwide. Its revenue is split 80 percent international vs. 20 percent US. Overall, Sweden (Barnebys' home country) represents one percent of the global auction market (vs. 20 percent for the UK and 38 percent for the United States).

Barnebys is fast closing in on the 1.5 million visitors a month mark. The firm employees people in Sweden, the UK, France, Germany, Spain and the US.

“Barnebys is a meta search engine for the auction industry,” Mr. Barnekow said. “Our aggregator model is proven and highly scalable, with earnings per click, but unlike other search engines or price comparison websites, we do not encourage predatory pricing. Instead, we bring bidders to the auction houses and that promotes higher clearance. Everyone profits, and customers enjoy full transparency.”

To learn more about Barnebys, please visit www.barnebys.com.

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