BASE, the Tokyo company behind the BASE online shop builder, announced on April 16, 2026 that it was acquiring Port, a Tokyo startup that lets creators sell one-on-one video calls to their fans.
BASE is buying all of Port's shares for ¥1.366 billion (about $8.6 million), according to M&A news site M&A Online, with the acquisition scheduled for April 17, 2026. The sellers were the investment fund UNIVISBP Investment Partnership, based in Minato, Tokyo, and other shareholders. BASE did not say how the price was paid.
Port becomes a group company of BASE and is moving to a new management structure. From April 17, BASE's chief financial officer Ken Harada and chief operating officer Nao Takahashi were set to join Port's board while keeping their BASE roles. Port's chief executive is Takashi Tamaki.
What Port built
Port was founded on February 19, 2018 and is based in Shibuya, Tokyo. Its mission statement is "WE EMPOWER ARTISTS". Its main product, Talkport, lets artists, idols, actors, voice actors, YouTubers, VTubers, characters and athletes sell one-on-one video calls to fans, and BASE says anyone can start selling calls with only a smartphone.
Port's second service, Shoport, is an online store builder designed for entertainment merchandise. Creators and talent use it to open shops and sell goods without handling shipping themselves, so they can focus on planning and selling products.
Both services target the Japanese market for oshi-katsu, the practice of spending time and money to support a favourite performer or character. Port listed its paid-in capital at ¥49.6 million (about $310,000). Revenue, profit and headcount were not disclosed in the announcement.
Why BASE is buying
BASE runs a group of commerce and payments products aimed at individuals and small teams: the BASE shop builder, the PAY.JP online payments service, the YELL BANK financing service, the Pay ID shopping app for buyers, cross-border commerce service want.jp, and the E-Store shop building system. It is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth market.
Most of that business involves physical goods. BASE said Port would help it grow gross merchandise value in services and digital content, which it calls non-merchandise, while offering Talkport and Shoport users access to BASE's payments, finance and e-commerce products. The company described the deal as part of a growth plan that includes improving existing products, adding AI features, building group synergies and pursuing acquisitions and partnerships.
Chief executive Yuta Tsuruoka said Port's work empowering creators fits closely with all of BASE's businesses, and that BASE wants to help Port roll out its products faster and on a larger scale in the fan-activity market.
The sellers
Port's outside funding history was not described in the announcements. M&A Online identified UNIVISBP Investment Partnership as the main seller, alongside other holders, and BASE is acquiring 100 percent of the company.
Tamaki said that Port would use BASE's experience in payments, finance and e-commerce to pursue its mission more effectively, and that it would work with the group to create business synergies for users of BASE's products.
What happens to creators and fans
BASE said Talkport and Shoport will keep operating, and that creators and fans who use them will gain access to services from across the BASE group. The company plans to expand products in services and digital content as well as in physical merchandise.
BASE also said that while growing its existing products remains its first priority, it intends to use active acquisitions to reach new groups of customers and achieve faster, non-linear growth for the group. Port is the latest step in that approach.
BASE did not give any forecast for how the purchase would affect its earnings. Port is the fourth company listed as an affiliate of BASE, alongside PAY, want.jp and E-Store.
