New York and San Francisco – August 1, 2024 – Nasdaq Private Market (NPM), a leading provider of secondary liquidity solutions to private companies, employees, and investors, announced today that it has added HiJoJo Partners (HJJ) as a new investor and the company’s first Japanese and Asian-based financial institution. HJJ will join NPM’s existing consortium of premier global financial institutions and investors to strengthen the private market products and investment vehicles available to the burgeoning Japanese private equity sector.
This announcement comes following the January 2024 closing of the company’s $62.4 million Series B financing round led by Nasdaq with participation from Allen & Company, Citi, and Goldman Sachs, and with new investments from BNP Paribas, DRW Venture Capital, UBS, and Wells Fargo.
NPM plans to leverage HJJ’s investment to accelerate new product development and its global footprint in Japan and across Asia Pacific. The strategic alliance will help to elevate NPM’s brand awareness throughout Japan, market the NPM SecondMarketTM trading platform to eligible Japanese investors, and support startups in raising capital internationally.
“We are excited to welcome HiJoJo Partners as a key strategic investor and our first based out of Japan. Together, we believe that we can create a more efficient and accessible private market for startups, other disruptive private companies, institutional investors, and shareholders in Japan and across Asia Pacific,” said Tom Callahan, Chief Executive Officer, Nasdaq Private Market. “As a highly esteemed, industry-leading asset management firm in the region, HiJoJo is the ideal partner to join our elite class of investors.”
NPM operates as an independent entity with strong support from its industry-backed consortium of investors. Collectively, the company serves private companies, employees and investors with a high-integrity trading, settlement, data, and wealth platform. Today, the company services some of the world’s most innovative private companies with solutions for the liquidity needs of their employees and institutional investors. The company has executed more than $50 billion in transactional value across 760 company-sponsored liquidity programs and block trades since inception.
“We are honored and delighted to become an investor in Nasdaq Private Market and expand our business in Japan together. Leveraging NPM’s track record and experience, we look forward to delivering attractive private asset investment products to Japanese investors,” commented Spyridon Mentzas, Chief Executive Officer of HiJoJo Partners. “We also aim to support the creation of a platform for private stock trading, fostering collaboration between Japanese and U.S. startups, multinational companies, shareholders, and investors contributing to the rejuvenation of the Japanese innovation economy and enhancing industrial competitiveness.”
NPM’s primary business lines include Company Solutions, SecondMarketTM Trading Marketplace, Transfer and Settlement, Tape DTM Data and Analytics, as well as Wealth Solutions. Its Company Solutions supports private companies using proprietary technology to facilitate tenders, auctions, and pre-direct listing programs. The SecondMarketTM Trading Marketplace is bringing transparency and efficiency to the block trading of private shares with a model fully aligned with the interests of private companies. Its patent-pending Transfer and Settlement technology streamlines the complex, burdensome process of post-match workflows for companies and trading counterparties. Tape DTM Data and Analytics delivers actionable insights into trading activity and private companies for employees and investors. Wealth Solutions is connecting clients with resources to manage their newly earned funds and support tax requirements.
About Nasdaq Private Market
Nasdaq Private Market provides liquidity solutions for private companies, employees, and investors throughout each stage of the pre-IPO lifecycle. In 2013, the company was founded within Nasdaq, Inc. Today it is an independent company with strategic investments from Nasdaq, Allen & Company, BNP Paribas, Citi, DRW Venture Capital, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, UBS, and Wells Fargo.
Learn more at www.nasdaqprivatemarket.com. Visit LinkedIn and X @npm for the latest company news.
About HiJoJo Partners
HiJoJo Partners is a Japanese independent asset management firm founded in 2017 by Spyridon Mentzas. It is one of the largest VC funds investing in U.S. unicorn companies, selling to Japanese investors through face-to-face and online channels. HJJ has achieved total sales exceeding 35 billion yen. Shareholders include major Japanese financial institutions such as Credit Saison, Mizuho Securities, SBI Group, Finatext Holdings, MUFG Innovation Partners, Okasan Securities Group, Japan Investment Adviser, and Monex Group.
Advisors
Jefferies LLC acted as financial advisor and placement agent to Nasdaq Private Market, and Cooley LLP served as legal advisor.
Media Contacts
Nasdaq Private Market
Amanda Gold
Amanda.Gold@npm.com
HiJoJo Partners
Yoichi Morimoto
morimoto@hijojo.com
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements with respect to the joint venture among Nasdaq Private Market, Nasdaq, Allen & Company, Citi, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, BNP Paribas, DRW Venture Capital, UBS, and Wells Fargo and the benefits of the joint venture, and statements about Nasdaq Private Market, Nasdaq, Allen & Company, Citi, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, BNP Paribas, DRW Venture Capital, UBS, and Wells Fargo and their respective products and offerings. We caution that these statements are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties, or other factors beyond the control of the joint venture participants. These factors include, but are not limited to, factors detailed in each joint venture participant’s annual report on Form 10-K and periodic reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The joint venture participants undertake no obligation to release any revisions to any forward-looking statements.
Disclosures and Disclaimers
NPM is not: (a) a registered exchange under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; (b) a registered investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940; or (c) a financial or tax planner and does not offer legal or financial advice to any user of the NPM website or its services. Securities-related services are offered through NPM Securities, LLC, a registered broker-dealer and alternative trading system, and member FINRA/SIPC. Transactions in securities conducted through NPM Securities, LLC are not listed or traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC, nor are the securities subject to the same listing or qualification standards applicable to securities listed or traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC.
Please read these other important disclosures and disclaimers about NPM found here: https://www.nasdaqprivatemarket.com/disclosures-disclaimer/