SoftBank will soon announce an agreement to acquire DigitalBridge. According to sources, talks with the digital infrastructure investor are at an advanced stage. The Japanese group could announce the deal as early as this week.
Reuters has not yet been able to independently confirm this information. It became clear in early December that SoftBank was in talks with DigitalBridge. A source confirmed to Reuters at the time that SoftBank was interested in the company because of its portfolio, which is strongly focused on artificial intelligence infrastructure. It was also indicated that a transaction could be completed before the end of the year. Neither SoftBank nor DigitalBridge were willing to comment at the time.
DigitalBridge is a specialist investor in digital infrastructure and manages approximately $108 billion in assets. The company invests in data centers, fiber optic networks, transmission towers, and edge infrastructure, among other things. Its portfolio includes Vantage Data Centers, Zayo, Switch, and AtlasEdge. DigitalBridge is led by CEO Marc Ganzi and is based in Boca Raton, Florida.
Substantial investments in AI infrastructure
The potential acquisition is taking place in a market where investment in digital infrastructure is growing rapidly. The growth of AI applications and cloud services is leading to higher demand for data center capacity and associated infrastructure. According to McKinsey, global investment in AI-related infrastructure could reach $6.7 trillion by 2030.
SoftBank itself is involved in several AI infrastructure initiatives, including the US Stargate project. In this partnership, various technology companies are working together on large-scale investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure.
The earlier news about the talks caused a clear price reaction at DigitalBridge in early December. The share price rose sharply that day, writes Reuters, despite the fact that the price was lower for the year as a whole.