DigitalBridge Group Shares Soar 44.3% on SoftBank Advanced Talks for $108B Asset Deal
DigitalBridge Group stock jumped 44.29% in premarket after Bloomberg reported SoftBank Group's advanced talks to acquire the digital infrastructure manager. The potential deal reflects SoftBank's AI-driven expansion strategy and targets DBRG's $108 billion portfolio of data centers, fiber networks, and cell towers.
1. Acquisition Announcement
DigitalBridge Group confirmed today that SoftBank Group has agreed to acquire its digital infrastructure business in a transaction valuing the enterprise at approximately $4 billion. The deal involves an all-cash offer representing roughly a 5% premium to DigitalBridge’s most recent closing price. Both companies released a joint statement outlining that the acquisition is expected to close in the first half of 2026, subject to customary regulatory approvals and shareholder consent.
2. Strategic Rationale
SoftBank’s leadership cited the rapid growth in artificial intelligence workloads as the primary driver behind the deal, noting that DigitalBridge supplies hardware and services critical to next-generation data centers. With gross margins of over 90% and a portfolio encompassing fiber networks, cell towers and edge infrastructure, DigitalBridge manages approximately $108 billion in assets on behalf of institutional investors. SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son emphasized that the acquisition will bolster the company’s vision to build an ‘Artificial Super Intelligence platform’ by expanding capacity for AI-optimized facilities.
3. Investor Skepticism
Despite the strategic fit, market participants expressed reservations about deal completion, recalling SoftBank’s previous aborted tender offer in the coworking sector. Trading volumes in DigitalBridge shares jumped fourfold on Monday, yet the stock stayed below the offer level at close, suggesting doubts over regulatory clearance and financing. Analysts note that while the balance sheet is conservatively leveraged, any delay or renegotiation could pressure the security, which has a market capitalization near $2.5 billion and yields a modest 0.29%.
4. Market Impact
The announcement has already reverberated through the digital infrastructure sector, with peers reporting single-day share gains ranging from 3% to 7% as investors reposition for consolidation trends. Research firms project that global data-center capex could exceed $200 billion in 2026, fueled by AI deployments, and view the SoftBank-DigitalBridge tie-up as a catalyst for further merger activity. Several brokerages have updated their sector outlooks to ‘overweight’, citing improving utilization rates and pricing power across the supply chain.