NEW YORK, December 30, 2025, 05:23 ET — Premarket
- DigitalBridge shares rose about 10% premarket, trading just below SoftBank’s $16-a-share cash offer.
- SoftBank said the deal values the digital infrastructure investor at about $4 billion and is slated to close in the second half of 2026.
- Analysts began resetting ratings and targets toward the takeout price as the stock trades like a merger arbitrage play.
DigitalBridge Group Inc (NYSE:DBRG) shares climbed 9.7% to $15.26 in premarket trading on Tuesday after SoftBank Group said it would buy the digital infrastructure investment manager in an all-cash deal.
The acquisition lands as Wall Street’s focus on AI infrastructure shifts from chips to the physical plumbing behind them — data centers, fiber and power — areas where demand can rise quickly but capacity takes years and billions to build.
“As AI transforms industries worldwide, we need more compute, connectivity, power, and scalable infrastructure,” SoftBank Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son said. ソフトバンクグループ株式会社
SoftBank will pay $16.00 per share, valuing DigitalBridge at an enterprise value of about $4.0 billion, the companies said. DigitalBridge said the price is a 15% premium to its Dec. 26 close and the transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026, with CEO Marc Ganzi continuing to lead the business as a separately managed platform.
A regulatory filing showed DigitalBridge disclosed the merger agreement and said the companies intend to file merger-related materials with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including a proxy statement.
DigitalBridge’s stock traded below the $16 offer price in early action, a gap deal traders call the “spread.” It reflects the time value of money and the market’s view of closing risk — especially with a timetable stretching into 2026.
RBC Capital Markets downgraded DigitalBridge to Sector Perform from Outperform and cut its price target to $16 from $23, citing the announced takeout price. RBC said it expects the deal to be approved and does not assume a counteroffer.
Wells Fargo, meanwhile, argued the agreed price looks light — estimating DigitalBridge should have been worth $2 to $4 more per share — but still expects the transaction to close because it doubts rival bids emerge.
DigitalBridge is an alternative asset manager focused on digital infrastructure — backing businesses tied to data centers, towers and fiber networks — a category that has drawn heightened interest as AI workloads drive demand for new capacity. Listed data center landlords such as Equinix and Digital Realty sit in the same broader ecosystem, though DigitalBridge’s model centers on investing and operating through funds.
