SoftBank Nears DigitalBridge Deal, Data Center M&A Reprices

SoftBank talks put a take-private price on DigitalBridge

DigitalBridge shares jumped in early trading on Monday, Dec. 29, after reports that SoftBank is in advanced discussions to acquire the U.S.-listed digital infrastructure investor. The stock move, roughly 40% at one point, pushed the market back into deal math and out of quarter-end positioning, because a take-private bid can reset valuation anchors across data center and connectivity assets.

Before the latest surge, DigitalBridge’s market value was about $2.5 billion. The scale matters: it is small enough to be financeable in a private transaction, but large enough to create meaningful read-through for listed peers that have been priced off public-market multiples rather than direct-control deal premiums.

DigitalBridge is not a single-asset operator. It is a digital infrastructure asset manager with exposure to data centers, cell towers, fiber networks, small-cell systems and edge infrastructure, and it reported about $108 billion of assets under management as of Sept. 30. That mix ties the firm to the same demand drivers pushing the AI buildout, power availability, and the race to add compute close to end users.

Son’s AI push is pulling infrastructure into the center of capital allocation

SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son has been repositioning the group toward AI-linked investments, and the attraction of DigitalBridge is straightforward: the bottleneck in AI is not only chips, it is also power, land, cooling, interconnect and the ability to deploy capacity quickly. Buying an infrastructure-focused platform would move SoftBank closer to the physical layer supporting AI workloads, rather than relying only on software or semiconductor exposure.

SoftBank has signaled interest in large-scale compute buildouts and the financing structures behind them, where returns can be shaped by long-term contracts, availability guarantees and the cost of funding. A deal for DigitalBridge would fit that approach by tying capital to assets that can secure multi-year commitments from hyperscalers and enterprise customers.

DigitalBridge’s asset mix changes how investors handicap cash flows

Because DigitalBridge is an asset manager, a large share of its economics is tied to fee streams and performance-based carry, which behave differently than rent-only models used by many public data center landlords. That distinction matters for markets: a take-private buyer may value the platform for its ability to raise capital, deploy into new projects, and recycle gains, rather than only for near-term distributable cash.

The firm’s exposure across data centers, fiber and edge also creates embedded optionality. When AI demand is accelerating, capital tends to favor platforms that can move quickly across the stack, from core facilities to network density. That optionality is also why rumors can move the stock sharply, because the upside is more sensitive to deal structure and financing than to a single quarter’s earnings.

The market channel is a higher data center M&A premium, not just one stock spike

If the DigitalBridge take-private deal lands at a meaningful premium, it can shift comparables for the broader digital infrastructure space. In equities, that can lift sentiment for U.S. data center and connectivity names by strengthening the argument that public markets are underpricing long-duration infrastructure cash flows relative to private bids.

In private markets, it can tighten required returns for new data center projects if investors believe strategic buyers are willing to pay up for platforms with operating relationships and capital-raising capability. That can lower equity risk premia for well-positioned developers while pushing weaker projects to clear at higher discounts if power and permitting remain constrained.

Financing terms will matter as much as the headline price

For AI infrastructure financing, the key question is how SoftBank would fund a transaction and whether it introduces new leverage into a sector already absorbing heavy capex. A take-private structure typically involves debt alongside equity, and the cost of that debt sets the floor for what buyers can pay.

If credit markets are receptive and funding is priced tightly, it supports higher deal values and can reinforce the risk-on tone across infrastructure and related credit. If financing comes with higher spreads, tighter covenants, or limited availability, it can cap the premium and reduce the read-through to peers, even if an agreement is announced.

Deal specifics will drive the next move in both equities and spreads

The next catalysts are the formal terms: price per share, any collar, the financing package, and the timeline for closing. A clear, fully financed agreement typically narrows volatility because investors can anchor to a defined premium and closing probability. A looser announcement with conditional financing tends to keep volatility high and can pull implied volatility up across the data center complex.

Regulatory review is also part of the closing equation. Cross-border acquisitions in sensitive infrastructure can draw scrutiny, and even routine process risk can affect timing, which matters for year-end and early-2026 positioning.

Base case, upside trigger, downside trigger

The base case is an announced agreement with a moderate premium and a defined financing plan, keeping DigitalBridge’s share price tethered to the offer level while lifting sentiment across digital infrastructure names that trade on takeover optionality.

An upside outcome is a richer valuation tied to a strategic rationale around AI capacity buildouts, plus clean financing that signals strong private-market demand for data center platforms, conditions that can re-rate infrastructure managers and compress spreads in select AI-linked project finance.

A downside outcome is talks that stall or reprice lower because financing is expensive or conditions change, which would likely unwind the recent move in DigitalBridge and cool the broader data center M&A premium that has been building into 2026.