SoftBank Group Corp. is in advanced discussions to acquire DigitalBridge Group Inc., a New York-listed private equity firm focused on data centres and related assets, reported Bloomberg.
The report said an agreement could be announced as soon as Monday, although no final terms have been reached, and the timing could still change.
If completed, the transaction would underline SoftBank’s growing emphasis on infrastructure that supports artificial intelligence workloads rather than consumer-facing technology bets.
On December 5, DigitalBridge’s stock surged 45% when Bloomberg reported the development for the first time.
Before that, DigitalBridge’s shares were trading down 13% for the year.
DigitalBridge now carries a market value of about $2.5 billion and an enterprise value of roughly $3.8 billion when debt is included, based on Bloomberg data.
Why DigitalBridge matters
DigitalBridge has built its business around owning and operating the physical backbone of the digital economy.
Led by chief executive Marc Ganzi, the firm reported about $108 billion in assets under management at the end of September.
Its portfolio spans data centre platforms and digital infrastructure operators, including AIMS, AtlasEdge, DataBank, Switch, Vantage Data Centers, and Yondr Group.
For SoftBank, acquiring DigitalBridge would offer immediate scale and operational exposure to data centre assets at a time when demand for computing capacity is accelerating.
Artificial intelligence models require vast amounts of power, specialised hardware, and resilient facilities, making data centres a strategic choke point.
SoftBank’s infrastructure pivot
The potential acquisition fits into a broader repositioning under billionaire founder Masayoshi Son.
Son has been vocal about concentrating capital on AI-related infrastructure, shifting focus away from earlier consumer internet investments.
In January, SoftBank unveiled Stargate, a $500 billion data centre initiative alongside OpenAI, Oracle Corp., and Abu Dhabi-backed MGX.
The project targets large-scale facilities across the US, but progress has been slower than initially promised.
Disagreements over site locations and funding structures have delayed deployment, despite Son pledging to deploy $100 billion immediately.
Funding pressures and past lessons
SoftBank’s infrastructure ambitions have also tested its balance sheet flexibility.
The group initially explored project financing from insurers, pension funds, and investment managers, but some discussions slowed amid market volatility, uncertainty around US trade policy, and questions over AI hardware valuations.
The company has navigated similar territory before.
In 2017, SoftBank acquired Fortress Investment Group for more than $3 billion, only to sell its stake in 2024 to a consortium including Mubadala Investment Co.
That episode highlighted both the opportunities and risks of operating in asset management.
More recently, Son disclosed he sold a $5.8 billion stake in Nvidia Corp. to free up capital for AI spending, underscoring the financial trade-offs behind SoftBank’s strategy.
Against this backdrop, DigitalBridge represents not just another acquisition target, but a potential shortcut to owning the infrastructure layer of the AI economy.
The post SoftBank’s DigitalBridge talks signal deeper push into AI data centre assets appeared first on Invezz