SoftBank Group Corp. agreed to acquire DigitalBridge Group, Inc. in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $4.0 billion, marking a major step in SoftBank’s effort to secure physical infrastructure for large-scale AI deployment. The deal expands SoftBank’s exposure across data centers, fiber networks, towers, and edge infrastructure at a time when AI training and inference workloads are driving unprecedented demand for power-dense, highly connected facilities.
DigitalBridge brings a global digital infrastructure investment and operating platform managing roughly $108 billion in assets, spanning hyperscale and wholesale data centers, metro and long-haul fiber, cell towers, small cells, and edge sites across North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. The acquisition strengthens SoftBank’s ability to originate, finance, and operate infrastructure required to deploy AI systems at scale, complementing its existing positions in AI silicon, cloud platforms, and network infrastructure.
Under the terms of the agreement, SoftBank will acquire all outstanding DigitalBridge shares for $16.00 per share in cash, representing a 15% premium to the December 26, 2025 closing price and a 50% premium to the unaffected 52-week average as of December 4, 2025. DigitalBridge will continue to operate as a separately managed platform led by CEO Marc Ganzi. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the second half of 2026.
- Transaction value: approximately $4.0 billion enterprise value
- Consideration: $16.00 per share, all cash
- Premiums: 15% to prior close; 50% to unaffected 52-week average
- Assets under management: approximately $108 billion
- Infrastructure scope: data centers, fiber, towers, small cells, edge
- Expected close: second half of 2026
“As AI transforms industries worldwide, we need more compute, connectivity, power, and scalable infrastructure,” said Masayoshi Son, Chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group Corp. “DigitalBridge is a leader in digital infrastructure, and this acquisition will strengthen the foundation for next-generation AI data centers.”
🌐 Analysis
SoftBank’s actions in 2025 reflect a clear strategic shift from financial investing toward direct control of AI-critical infrastructure. The launch of Stargate, SoftBank’s large-scale AI infrastructure initiative, positioned the group as an orchestrator of compute, data center capacity, power availability, and global connectivity rather than a passive capital provider.
A second major pillar of this strategy was SoftBank’s acquisition of Ampere Computing, which brought Arm-native, hyperscale server CPU design in-house. Ampere’s focus on power-efficient, cloud-optimized processors ties directly to AI inference and scale-out workloads. Combined with SoftBank’s majority ownership of Arm, the group now influences instruction sets, CPU architecture, and silicon roadmaps. The proposed DigitalBridge acquisition extends this vertical integration beyond silicon into the physical environments where AI compute operates.
DigitalBridge deep dive: assets, history, and capital base
DigitalBridge stands out as one of the most established pure-play digital infrastructure investment platforms. Its roots extend back more than 30 years through predecessor firms that invested in communications, wireless, and infrastructure assets before the company rebranded as DigitalBridge in 2021. Under CEO Marc Ganzi, the firm streamlined its focus around digital infrastructure, building dedicated investment strategies across data centers, fiber networks, towers, small cells, and edge infrastructure.
Today, DigitalBridge manages approximately $108 billion in assets on behalf of pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, and other long-term institutional investors, supplemented by public market capital via its NYSE listing. Its operating platforms span hyperscale and wholesale data centers, metro and long-haul fiber networks, neutral-host wireless assets, and edge facilities designed to support latency-sensitive workloads.
Strategic implications for AI at scale
For SoftBank, DigitalBridge adds an execution-oriented infrastructure engine at a time when AI growth increasingly depends on access to power, land, fiber, and permitting—not just GPUs and models. Training frontier AI systems and delivering inference services at global scale require years-long planning cycles, regulatory navigation, and operational expertise. DigitalBridge’s track record in structuring long-term contracts, financing capital-intensive projects, and operating assets across multiple regions addresses those challenges directly.
Keeping DigitalBridge as a separately managed platform signals SoftBank’s intent to preserve its operating discipline and investor relationships while aligning it with a broader AI roadmap. Alongside Arm, Ampere, and Stargate, the acquisition positions SoftBank to influence nearly every layer of the AI stack—from compute architecture and processors to data centers and connectivity—at a time when hyperscalers, governments, and enterprises are competing aggressively for AI-ready infrastructure capacity.
🌐 We’re tracking the latest developments in AI infrastructure and data centers. Follow our ongoing coverage at:
