Continue to increase AI infrastructure! SoftBank negotiates privatization of DigitalBridge (DBRG.US), Komo's valuation is 35 US dollars/share

The Zhitong Finance App learned that, according to people familiar with the matter, SoftBank is in negotiations with DigitalBridge (DBRG.US) to acquire the listed company and privatize it. The latter is a private equity firm that invests in assets such as data centers. SoftBank's move aims to capitalize on the boom in artificial intelligence-driven digital infrastructure construction.

DigitalBridge shares have fallen 13% so far this year, and closed up nearly 45% on Friday, the biggest one-day gain ever; the stock closed at $14.12, bringing the company's market capitalization to $2.58 billion. SoftBank founder Sun Zhengyi is trying to profit from the surge in demand for computing power that artificial intelligence applications rely on. According to relevant sources, the deal is likely to be reached within the next few weeks as soon as possible, but it is still in the negotiation stage, and it is uncertain whether an agreement can be reached in the end.

According to the official website, DigitalBridge, led by CEO Marc Ganzi, managed assets of approximately $108 billion as of the end of September. Its portfolio includes digital infrastructure operators such as AIMS, AtlasEdge, DataBank, Switch, Vantage data centers, and Yondr Group.

The company's potential sale price could be between $25 and $35. In a Friday report, J.P. Morgan analysts indicated that DigitalBridge's share price could reach $25 per share under conservative estimates, with potential upside of up to $30 to $35.

“Based on our forecast for 2026, we see an attractive bid price of $28 per share for this stock, but if we look at the 2027 forecast at a higher valuation multiple, the valuation range will reach $30 to $35 per share,” the analyst said.

Raymond James research analyst Ric Prentiss said in an October 30 research report that for a larger alternative asset management company with capital raising infrastructure, the acquisition of DigitalBridge was a smart move rather than stand by. Prentiss wrote, “We think DigitalBridge might be considered for sale, but only if the price is reasonable (and well above the current level) and on favorable terms.”

SoftBank has previously had related transactions in the asset management department. In 2017, it bought Fortress Investment Group for over $3 billion. Eventually, it sold its holdings to a group including Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment, and the deal was completed in 2024.

In January of this year, SoftBank, OpenAI, Oracle (ORCL.US), and Abu Dhabi-based MGX jointly announced a $500 billion project called “Stargate,” which aims to build data centers in the US. Although Sun Zhengyi promised an immediate investment of 100 billion US dollars, the “Stargate” project is progressing at a slower pace than originally planned, partly due to differences over where the data center should be located.

According to reports in May, SoftBank initially sought project financing from external investors, including insurance companies, pension funds, and investment funds, but some negotiations have slowed down due to market fluctuations, uncertainty in US trade policy, and questions about the financial valuation of artificial intelligence hardware.

In September, OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank announced that they will build five new power plants in Texas, New Mexico, and Ohio. The final generation capacity of these power plants will reach 7 billion watts, which is equivalent to the electricity consumption of some cities. This move by SoftBank requires allocating part of the funds to free up the funds. As a result, Sun Zhengyi said this week that he was “very sad” because he had to sell Nvidia shares worth 5.8 billion US dollars in order to use this money back into other artificial intelligence investments.