$4 billion, 15% premium! Masayoshi Son acquires US data center operator DigitalBridge, which was founded by a Trump ally.

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SoftBank is accelerating the construction of its global artificial intelligence infrastructure network, with its latest move being the multi-billion-dollar acquisition of American digital infrastructure giant DigitalBridge.

According to the UK’s Financial Times on Tuesday, SoftBank Group has agreed to acquire DigitalBridge for about $4 billion. The deal will purchase shares at $16 per share in cash, a 15% premium over last Friday’s closing price, and the total enterprise value including debt is about $4 billion.

Masayoshi Son is betting heavily that AI will completely transform business and society, as well as SoftBank’s growth prospects. This deal is a key part of SoftBank’s AI infrastructure strategy. DigitalBridge manages over $100 billion in assets, including data centers, cellular towers, and fiber optic networks. Son says this acquisition will “strengthen the foundation of next-generation AI data centers.”

DigitalBridge was founded in 1991 by Tom Barrack, an early financial supporter of Trump, originally named Colony Capital. Barrack is currently the U.S. ambassador to Turkey. The deal is expected to be completed in the second half of 2026, and DigitalBridge CEO Marc Ganzi will continue to lead the company as an “independent management platform.”

SoftBank’s stock has nearly doubled this year but has dropped by one third in the past two months, as the market worries about an AI industry bubble and SoftBank’s ability to finance its massive OpenAI investments.

AI Infrastructure Battle Heats Up

Masayoshi Son sees this acquisition as a core pillar of his “artificial superintelligence” strategy. He said: “As AI transforms industries globally, we need more computing power, connectivity, electricity, and scalable infrastructure.”

DigitalBridge’s asset portfolio is precisely what SoftBank needs. The company manages over $100 billion in assets covering data centers, telecom towers, and fiber networks—key infrastructure for the AI era. These assets will synergize with SoftBank’s large investments in OpenAI and the Stargate AI infrastructure project, which collaborates with database company Oracle and will provide computing power for ChatGPT.

DigitalBridge CEO Ganzi said: “Building AI infrastructure represents one of the most important investment opportunities of our generation.” Ganzi is a seasoned dealmaker in the telecom sector, having founded American telecom infrastructure firm Global Tower Partners, which was sold for $4.8 billion in 2013.

Trump Ally’s Digital Transformation

DigitalBridge’s history is closely tied to U.S. politics. The company was founded in 1991 by Tom Barrack as Colony Capital. Barrack was an early financial backer of President Trump and is now the U.S. ambassador to Turkey.

In 2019, Barrack led a $325 million acquisition of data center investor Digital Bridge. He stepped down as executive chairman in 2021, and the company was renamed DigitalBridge, shifting from traditional real estate to focus on digital infrastructure investment.

After the deal is completed, Ganzi will continue to lead DigitalBridge as an independent management platform. The deal requires regulatory approval and is expected to close in the second half of 2026.

Acquisition Spree Amid Financing Pressures

SoftBank’s stock price has nearly doubled since 2025, but has dropped by a third in the past two months, raising market concerns about an AI bubble and SoftBank’s ability to finance its large investments. In early November, SoftBank sold all its shares in AI chipmaker Nvidia, cashing out $5.8 billion for acquisition financing.

Last month, SoftBank CFO Yoshimitsu Goto said the group needs to “divest existing investments” to raise more than $30 billion for investing in OpenAI.

But this has not curbed Masayoshi Son’s pace of acquisitions. Last October, SoftBank agreed to acquire ABB’s robotics division for $5.4 billion, and according to the Financial Times, is also discussing increasing its investment in British autonomous driving startup Wayve. Son has also agreed to invest $2 billion in troubled Silicon Valley chipmaker Intel, further demonstrating his alliance with Trump.

Major investment institutions have been focusing on building data center portfolios to seize the AI boom. Many investors have chosen to acquire specialized data center owners, as it is difficult to build such portfolios from scratch.

Private equity group Ares earlier this year completed the acquisition of global operations of real estate developer GLP Capital Partners. This trend reflects fierce competition for AI infrastructure assets in the market and a strategic preference for rapidly acquiring large-scale assets through mergers and acquisitions.

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