uSonar buys 70% of sales outsourcer Empire State for $1.2M
What's the deal? Japanese corporate data company uSonarDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has completed its purchase of a 70% stake in Empire State, a Yokohama-based sales and business process outsourcing (BPO) provider, for about US$1.35M. The deal took effect on October 1, making Empire State a consolidated subsidiary.
What's the endgame? uSonar said the deal lets it enter a new area — "BPO business utilizing corporate data (sales outsourcing, telemarketing, etc.)" — by pairing Empire State's sales know-how with its own database and products. The move fits a plan to expand its database assets and adjacent businesses that use its data.
What does Empire State do? Founded in September 2023, it offers end-to-end sales support — strategy planning, inside sales, field sales, and sales organisation development — for clients ranging from startups to large enterprises. It has recently expanded into recruitment support and generative AI-driven digital transformation work.
Why now? Empire State is young but growing fast. It reported sales of US$2.15M for the year to June 2026, up from US$723.1K a year earlier, though operating profit fell to US$76.9K from US$153.8K.
What changes? President Koyo Itakura keeps 20% and Kota Maeda holds 10% after the deal. uSonar, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market, will move to consolidated reporting from its full-year results, with an immaterial impact on 2026 earnings.
The signal: The deal reflects a wider push in Japan to pair sales outsourcing with proprietary data, so outbound teams work from richer target lists rather than cold calls alone. "Outsourcing is fundamentally countercyclical," said Derek Gallimore, founder of industry adviser Outsource Accelerator. "The industry can do well in recessions and depressions."
Read more: news.outsourceaccelerator.com
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
