FreakOut Acquires Playwire to Launch in the United States, Enters the World's Largest Programmatic Market

SINGAPOREandNEW YORK,Dec. 20,2018 --FreakOut,the global marketing technology company,part of FreakOut Holdings (TSE: 6094),has announced its acquisition of Playwire,a global technology company headquartered in Florida that specializes in maximizing advertising monetization for publishers.

Through this new alliance,FreakOut is set to deliver innovative and cutting-edge technology solutions,such as proprietary Complete Monetization Platform and Revenue Intelligence.The move will give FreakOut's clients bespoke access to a large inventory that is comprised of 450 publishers,serving six billion video and display ads each month in the USA.

According to eMarketer,more than $46 billion will go to programmatic advertising in the US this year and by 2020,86.2% of all digital display ads will be bought via automated channels. In light of this trend,FreakOut decided to strategically partner with Playwire to further strengthen its offering of pioneering programmatic advertising technology and provide even more expanded access and outreach to its client base.

As a result of a truly "win-win" deal,FreakOut unlocks access to English-speaking markets throughout the globe,while Playwire benefits from FreakOut's premium APAC media partners. Additionally,this partnership aligns complementary technology from each company together,forging a unique digital advertising supply chain that guarantees optimal advertising revenue for web publishers.

Yuzuru Honda,CEO and President- FreakOut Holdings,Inc.,commented:

"We are excited to have Playwire as part of our group,and we are committed to boosting global growth. With the full resources of both FreakOut and Playwire,we will build our presence in a global market together."

FreakOut and Playwire share a vision of letting web publishers do what they do best- create great content- by freeing publishers from the ever-increasing technical complexities of implementing digital advertising. Through the intelligent use of technology,the companies promote brand safety,protect against fraud,and locate ads that deliver the best experience for the advertiser,publisher,and viewer.

Narayan Murthy Ivaturi,Chief Operating Officer - FreakOut Adtech Business,commented:

"This year our emphasis was to enhance our programmatic offering and work with most of the named publisher groups in APAC and other expansion markets like UAE,Russia and Australia. The next step of this strategy is to take our presence into the biggest programmatic market in the world,and who else can be a better partner than Playwire. We are really excited to welcome Jayson and team into the FreakOut family as they add a lot of value to our mission with their technology capability and years of experience in Adtech."

Jayson Dubin,CEO - Playwire,added:

"I'm thrilled that this acquisition allows Playwire to share its innovative technology and reach a larger audience. By joining forces with our Asian counterpart FreakOut,we have become one of the largest global media and technology companies in the world for digital advertising. We look forward to working together with the FreakOut team to create strategic synergies by mutually leveraging our group assets across North America,Europe,and Asia."

About FreakOut

FreakOut is a global marketing technology company with programmatic solutions (DSP,SSP) delivering in-feed display and in-feed video formats across 3,000 publishers. With its global headquarters in Singapore,FreakOut consists of more than 600 employees in 18 offices across 16 countries,spreading throughout Asia Pacific,Middle East and Europe. Each office is committed to servicing the digital marketing needs of both advertisers and publishers,based on our unique and edgy value "Dance First. Play Different". FreakOut is part of FreakOut Holdings Inc,which is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE: 6094) and oversees the media investment management sector for FreakOut.

Visit us at http://foutap.com/ and follow us on https://www.facebook.com/FreakOutGlobal/,https://www.linkedin.com/company/FreakOutglobal/ and https://twitter.com/FreakOutGlobal .

About Playwire

Playwire is a global technology and services company that helps publishers maximize revenue from their user base and run their businesses more efficiently. With its Complete Monetization Platform,the company is able to provide an all-inclusive solution to manage every aspect of the ad ecosystem for digital publishers through machine learning technology,dubbed Revenue Intelligence. Playwire's portfolio includes managing over 450 websites,serving six billion video and display ads,and streaming one billion minutes of video each month. The exclusive nature of the company's relationship with its partners allows Playwire to provide all of its digital advertising services through one channel. Playwire is headquartered in Deerfield Beach,Florida and has business operations and satellite offices around the globe. For more information,please visit http://www.playwire.comand on Twitter@playwire.