HiJoJo Partners Inc. (“HiJoJo”) today announced that its U.S. subsidiary, HiJoJo Holding Company Inc., will receive a US$10 million investment from Credit Saison Co., Ltd. (“Credit Saison”) under a SAFE agreement (*1). HiJoJo is headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo, and is led by Representative Directors and Co-CEOs Spyridon Mentzas and Norifumi Akiyama. HiJoJo Holding Company Inc. is incorporated in Delaware and operates from California. Credit Saison is headquartered in Toshima-ku, Tokyo, and is led by Katsumi Mizuno, Representative, Executive President and COO.
HiJoJo also plans to ask the underwriters to allocate shares to Credit Saison as a purchaser designated by HiJoJo under an oyabike arrangement (*2). For details, please see the “Notice Regarding Resolution of the Board of Directors on Issuance of New Shares and Secondary Offering of Shares” (available in Japanese only) released today.
HiJoJo engages in asset management by structuring, distributing, and managing funds that invest in mid- to late-stage private companies in Japan and overseas, including global unicorn companies. Through these funds, HiJoJo provides Japanese investors with access to these investment opportunities.
The investment will enable HiJoJo to strengthen its investment sourcing and selection capabilities and deepen its local network in the United States. It will also expand HiJoJo’s investment warehousing capacity, allowing it to execute multiple investments in parallel. Together, these initiatives will expand opportunities to structure and distribute funds globally, giving Japanese investors access to a broader range of high-quality investment opportunities.
HiJoJo and Credit Saison intend to expand their collaboration beyond the U.S. business. By combining the HiJoJo Group’s investment sourcing capabilities and network with the Credit Saison Group’s customer base and business network in Japan and overseas, the two groups aim to create new business opportunities.
“Since our investment in HiJoJo Partners in 2018, we have supported its growth and steadily deepened our collaboration. With HiJoJo Partners’ upcoming IPO as a new milestone in our relationship, and we will further strengthen our partnership through an additional investment in HiJoJo Partners and an investment in its U.S. subsidiary. By combining HiJoJo Partners’ expertise in sourcing investments and its network in the United States with our customer base and financial capabilities, we aim to create new business opportunities.”
“Credit Saison has supported HiJoJo since our founding and, since investing in 2018, has stood by us through changing market conditions, including periods when our business did not progress as planned. We would not be where we are today without Mr. Mizuno, Mr. Takahashi, and everyone at Credit Saison. We are deeply grateful for their support and delighted to welcome this new investment in HiJoJo Holding Company Inc. Building on our longstanding relationship, we will further strengthen our ability to source and select investments and deepen our local network in the United States, giving Japanese investors access to a broader range of high-quality investment opportunities. We look forward to entering the next phase of growth together with Credit Saison.”
Company Name | HiJoJo Holding Company Inc. |
Representative | Spyridon Mentzas, President |
Established | February 2026 |
Location | 345 California St, Suite 600, Office #44, San Francisco, CA 94104, United States |
Business | Holding company overseeing and managing U.S. subsidiaries (*3) |
*1 SAFE agreement (Post-Money Simple Agreement for Future Equity): An investment agreement that gives an investor, in return for providing capital, the right to have the invested amount converted into shares, or to receive cash, or other payment upon a future financing, liquidity event, maturity, or other event specified in the agreement.
*2 Allocation to a designated purchaser (oyabike): An arrangement in which an underwriter sells shares in a public offering or secondary offering to a purchaser designated by the issuer or existing shareholders, etc.
*3 HiJoJo Management Company Inc. and HiJoJo Investing Company LLC are wholly owned subsidiaries of HiJoJo Holding Company Inc. HiJoJo Management Company Inc. operates and manages funds that invest in shares of U.S. private companies, partnership interests, and similar assets. HiJoJo Investing Company LLC invests in these types of assets in the United States.
This press release is intended for the general public announcement regarding the investment in HiJoJo’s U.S. subsidiary by Credit Saison, and has not been prepared for the purpose of soliciting investment. This press release does not constitute an offer or a solicitation of an offer to purchase HiJoJo’s common stock in the United States. HiJoJo has not registered, and does not intend to register, its common stock under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration under the Securities Act or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements thereunder. No public offering of securities will be made in the United States in connection with this transaction.