FreakOut Holdings Acquires UDN SPORTS, Bringing it into the Group
FreakOut Holdings announced on May 1, 2026, its decision to acquire a portion of shares in UDN SPORTS, a company managing approximately 180 athletes including top professional soccer players and track and field athletes, making it a consolidated subsidiary. This move aims to maximize athlete value by integrating FreakOut's ad technology and UUUM's influencer marketing expertise.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: May 2, 2026 at 04:00
- 🔍 Collected: May 1, 2026 at 19:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 1, 2026 at 19:52 (20 min after Collected)
FreakOut Holdings, Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and Global CEO: Ken Honda; hereinafter "FreakOut") announced on May 1, 2026, its decision to acquire a portion of shares in UDN SPORTS Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and President: Rikiya Banno; hereinafter "UDN SPORTS"), a company that supports the management and social contribution activities of approximately 180 athletes, including top professional soccer players who are current Japan national team members (such as Shinji Kagawa, Hiroshi Kiyotake, Hotaru Yamaguchi, Genki Haraguchi, Gaku Shibasaki, Koki Ogawa, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Kaishu Sano, Rihito Yamamoto, Kodai Sano, Yui Hasegawa) and track and field athlete Abdul Hakim Sani Brown, and badminton player Kento Momota, making it a consolidated subsidiary. Based on this grouping, FreakOut, UDN SPORTS, and other companies within the FreakOut Group, including UUUM Co., Ltd. (hereinafter "UUUM"), will jointly launch a project to maximize athlete value.
Maximizing the "Athlete First" Philosophy
In recent years, Japanese soccer has undergone dramatic evolution, with many Japanese players actively performing as key figures in the world's top leagues, and their abilities are recognized globally. Furthermore, Japanese athletes are showing remarkable success in various sports such as track and field and badminton. To maximize player performance, it is extremely important to create an environment where athletes can concentrate on their sport. This requires providing optimal support tailored to each athlete's individual needs, such as contract negotiations with teams, improvement of competitive environments, branding support, and the realization of social contribution activities through sports. UDN SPORTS has, until now, promoted its agent business with the basic stance of prioritizing the career and interests of each affiliated athlete. This grouping aims to further expand this value based on this philosophy.
Value Created by This Grouping
Through this grouping, UDN SPORTS's solid track record as an agent will be merged with the various know-how of the FreakOut Group. This will go beyond traditional agent functions to provide the following support, maximizing athlete value:
Maximizing Advertising
Acquisition of advertising deals, FreakOut's strongest area, and provision of cutting-edge ad technology.
Diversification and Optimization of Information Dissemination
Utilization of UUUM's vast influencer assets and know-how.
Strengthening SNS communication power, enhancing event value, and realizing diverse monetization methods such as merchandise sales.
Strategic Strengthening of Global Expansion
Redefining and strengthening FreakOut's overseas network, centered in North America and Asia, as the next growth engine for UDN SPORTS athletes' overseas expansion.
Our Vision: To Create an "Athlete Value Maximization Company"
FreakOut is a marketing technology company that pioneered real-time internet advertising transactions in Japan. It has expanded its advertising and marketing businesses, aiming to maximize advertising value for advertisers and revenue for media companies in the domestic and international advertising industries. In February 2025, it fully acquired UUUM, a top-tier YouTube creator agency in Japan, growing into a unique group possessing both ad technology and influencer marketing assets, with diverse knowledge and know-how. It has also made strategic investments in business areas utilizing generative AI, with several businesses already generating revenue.
On the other hand, it has also made strategic investments in areas not lost to AI, including the acquisition of UUUM. In this regard, the business conducted by UDN SPORTS, which is now joining the group, is rooted in the fundamental human experience of sports. It also supports the global success of rapidly growing Japanese athletes, particularly in soccer, and is a "human-like" business that represents human endeavors that will never be lost to AI. FreakOut will leverage all its accumulated resources in advertising, SNS, ad technology, and UUUM's influencer marketing to realize UDN SPORTS founder Rikiya Banno's aspiration of "maximizing athlete value" and aims to create a Japan-originated "Athlete Value Maximization Company" in the future.
Regarding some reports today, there was a mention of the transaction amount for this matter, but this is speculation by the media. It was not announced by FreakOut or UDN SPORTS, and the amount is not public.
Maximizing the "Athlete First" Philosophy
In recent years, Japanese soccer has undergone dramatic evolution, with many Japanese players actively performing as key figures in the world's top leagues, and their abilities are recognized globally. Furthermore, Japanese athletes are showing remarkable success in various sports such as track and field and badminton. To maximize player performance, it is extremely important to create an environment where athletes can concentrate on their sport. This requires providing optimal support tailored to each athlete's individual needs, such as contract negotiations with teams, improvement of competitive environments, branding support, and the realization of social contribution activities through sports. UDN SPORTS has, until now, promoted its agent business with the basic stance of prioritizing the career and interests of each affiliated athlete. This grouping aims to further expand this value based on this philosophy.
Value Created by This Grouping
Through this grouping, UDN SPORTS's solid track record as an agent will be merged with the various know-how of the FreakOut Group. This will go beyond traditional agent functions to provide the following support, maximizing athlete value:
Maximizing Advertising
Acquisition of advertising deals, FreakOut's strongest area, and provision of cutting-edge ad technology.
Diversification and Optimization of Information Dissemination
Utilization of UUUM's vast influencer assets and know-how.
Strengthening SNS communication power, enhancing event value, and realizing diverse monetization methods such as merchandise sales.
Strategic Strengthening of Global Expansion
Redefining and strengthening FreakOut's overseas network, centered in North America and Asia, as the next growth engine for UDN SPORTS athletes' overseas expansion.
Our Vision: To Create an "Athlete Value Maximization Company"
FreakOut is a marketing technology company that pioneered real-time internet advertising transactions in Japan. It has expanded its advertising and marketing businesses, aiming to maximize advertising value for advertisers and revenue for media companies in the domestic and international advertising industries. In February 2025, it fully acquired UUUM, a top-tier YouTube creator agency in Japan, growing into a unique group possessing both ad technology and influencer marketing assets, with diverse knowledge and know-how. It has also made strategic investments in business areas utilizing generative AI, with several businesses already generating revenue.
On the other hand, it has also made strategic investments in areas not lost to AI, including the acquisition of UUUM. In this regard, the business conducted by UDN SPORTS, which is now joining the group, is rooted in the fundamental human experience of sports. It also supports the global success of rapidly growing Japanese athletes, particularly in soccer, and is a "human-like" business that represents human endeavors that will never be lost to AI. FreakOut will leverage all its accumulated resources in advertising, SNS, ad technology, and UUUM's influencer marketing to realize UDN SPORTS founder Rikiya Banno's aspiration of "maximizing athlete value" and aims to create a Japan-originated "Athlete Value Maximization Company" in the future.
Regarding some reports today, there was a mention of the transaction amount for this matter, but this is speculation by the media. It was not announced by FreakOut or UDN SPORTS, and the amount is not public.