SoftBank Group on Monday announced that it will acquire the DigitalBridge Group, a digital infrastructure investor, in a deal valued at $4 billion. The move is part of the Japanese firm’s plan to strengthen its investments linked to artificial intelligence.
Under the offer, SoftBank will pay $16 per share, which is about 15% higher than DigitalBridge’s closing price on Friday. The deal values the company at around $2.92 billion and is expected to close in the second half of next year.
Market Reaction
DigitalBridge shares jumped nearly 9.7% on Monday to $15.27. The stock had already risen about 45% earlier this month after reports first emerged that the two companies were in talks, a Reuters report said.
Why does SoftBank want DigitalBridge?
SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son is betting big on the growing need for computing power that supports AI tools and services. Buying DigitalBridge will give SoftBank a bigger presence in digital infrastructure, which is key to running and scaling AI systems.
Jacob Yahiayan, chief executive of Urban Logistic Advisory Services, an investor in DigitalBridge, called the deal an important step in fixing gaps in digital infrastructure, Reuters reported. However, he said SoftBank still has a long way to go before it controls a large share of the global hardware and software services market.
What does DigitalBridge do?
DigitalBridge invests in the backbone of the digital economy which is the digital infrastructure. Its assets include data centres, mobile towers, fibre networks, small-cell systems and edge infrastructure. Its portfolio includes companies such as Vantage Data Centers, Zayo, Switch and AtlasEdge.
Reuters report said that the firm was founded in 1991 as Colony Capital, with a focus on real estate. Under chief executive Marc Ganzi, it shifted towards digital infrastructure and changed its name to DigitalBridge in 2021 after selling off most of its property assets.
Ganzi will continue to lead DigitalBridge, which will operate as a separate platform after the acquisition.
Scale and AI Projects
As of September 30, DigitalBridge managed about $108 billion in assets, making it one of the biggest investors focused solely on digital infrastructure.
The company is also part of the Stargate project, along with OpenAI, Oracle and Abu Dhabi-based tech investor MGX. The project aims to build large-scale computing and infrastructure to support advanced AI.
In September, OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank announced plans to set up five new computing centres across Texas, New Mexico and Ohio. Once fully operational, these sites are expected to have a combined power capacity of around seven gigawatts.
