SoftBank completes ~$4B takeover of DigitalBridge, which becomes its 'third-party infrastructure arm' for AI data centers
On Sept 30, 2026 SoftBank Group completed its acquisition of DigitalBridge, a digital-infrastructure investor with stakes in data-center operators such as Vantage, Switch and DataBank. SoftBank paid about $3.1B for the common stock (about $4B by the deal value first announced in Dec 2025). CEO Marc Ganzi told the FT that DigitalBridge will be SoftBank's "third-party infrastructure arm", raising outside money for data centers and power tied to SoftBank's AI strategy.
Key facts
- Completed Sept 30, 2026. SoftBank Group acquired all outstanding DigitalBridge common stock for about $3.1B. DigitalBridge becomes a controlled subsidiary run as a separately managed platform, still led by Marc Ganzi (SoftBank press release)
- Deal first announced in late Dec 2025 at about $4B (SiliconANGLE)
- Ganzi (FT, Oct 4): DigitalBridge will be SoftBank's 'third-party infrastructure arm', raising capital from institutional investors for data centers, power and related assets
- DigitalBridge portfolio (secondary reports): AIMS, AtlasEdge, DataBank, Switch, Takanock, Vantage Data Centers, Yondr; $108B+ assets under management
What happened
SoftBank closed its purchase of DigitalBridge, the infrastructure asset manager. DigitalBridge's results will now be consolidated into SoftBank Group. Ganzi presented the combined group as a way to bring institutional money into AI-era data centers and power alongside SoftBank's own commitments, such as Stargate and OpenAI.
Why it matters
Funding the AI build-out increasingly depends on private-capital vehicles. SoftBank now owns a manager with stakes in several large data-center operators to raise third-party money, alongside its debt-financed OpenAI investments. The FT article is paywalled. The quotes here come from the Techmeme summary and search-result snippets.
Changelog
- 2026-10-04: created (sweep 2026-10-04, Techmeme/FT)
Related events
Sources (5)
- officialSoftBank Group: Completion of acquisition of DigitalBridge
- pressFinancial Times: DigitalBridge to become SoftBank's third-party infrastructure arm
- discussionTechmeme summary (FT)
- pressDCD: SoftBank closes DigitalBridge acquisition
- pressSiliconANGLE (Dec 2025): SoftBank to acquire AI infrastructure investor DigitalBridge for $4B
id: 2026-09-30-softbank-completes-digitalbridge-acquisition · updated 2026-10-04 · open in the interactive timeline