SoftBank Group has completed its $3.1 billion acquisition of DigitalBridge, closing the deal on 30 September 2026 and turning the US digital infrastructure investor into a controlled subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate.

The completion marks one of SoftBank's most significant infrastructure moves in recent years and anchors its strategy around AI-era compute. At announcement, SoftBank framed the transaction as a way to build, expand and finance the infrastructure needed to support the next generation of AI services and applications.

What does the deal give SoftBank?

DigitalBridge brings a portfolio centred on digital infrastructure: data centres, towers, fibre and small cells, financed and operated through funds managing institutional capital. For SoftBank, the attraction is a ready-made platform to channel capital into the physical layer — power, connectivity and compute — that AI workloads demand.

SoftBank Group Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son set out the rationale in direct terms: "As AI transforms industries worldwide, we need more compute, connectivity, power, and scalable infrastructure."

Son went further on the strategic intent: "DigitalBridge is a leader in digital infrastructure, and this acquisition will strengthen the foundation for next-generation AI data centres, advance our vision to become a leading ASI platform provider, and help unlock breakthroughs that move humanity forward."

The reference to ASI — artificial superintelligence — signals where SoftBank sees the end market. The company is positioning itself not merely as an AI investor but as a platform provider for a stage of AI beyond today's generative systems. That ambition rests on physical assets, and DigitalBridge gives SoftBank an operator with a track record of developing them.

Who runs DigitalBridge now?

The company will continue to operate independently under CEO Marc Ganzi, the executive who has led DigitalBridge's transition from a tower-focused real estate trust into a diversified digital infrastructure investor.

Ganzi cast the deal as an alignment of long-horizon capital with an unprecedented buildout cycle. He said: "The buildout of AI infrastructure represents one of the most significant investment opportunities of our generation."

He also pointed to what SoftBank's balance sheet brings to the table: "SoftBank shares our DNA as builders and long-term investors committed to scaling transformational digital infrastructure. Their vision, capital strength, and global network will allow us to accelerate our mission with greater flexibility, invest with a longer-term horizon on behalf of our investors, and better serve the world's leading technology companies as they scale their AI ambitions."

The promise of a longer investment horizon matters for DigitalBridge's fund investors. Infrastructure assets — data centres in particular — carry multi-decade depreciation profiles, and patient capital can hold assets through construction and ramp-up phases that shorter-cycle funds cannot tolerate.

What is the commercial reality behind the AI framing?

SoftBank's statement is heavy on AI narrative, and the market will judge the deal on deployment rather than vision. What is concrete at completion: a $3.1 billion price, a 30 September 2026 closing date, subsidiary status, and continuity of management under Ganzi.

DigitalBridge's recent activity shows where its portfolio is heading. The company sold a €1.5 billion stake in data centre operator Vantage to Australia's largest pension fund, and it has backed UK altnet Netomnia's fibre-to-the-home rollout with £295 million. Its CEO has previously argued that AI infrastructure will grow to match the $300 billion public cloud market.

Those transactions illustrate the model SoftBank is buying into: originate, build and finance digital infrastructure, then recycle capital into the next generation of assets.

What comes next?

With the deal closed, attention shifts to deployment. The stated priority is next-generation AI data centres, with Son naming compute, connectivity and power as the constraint set SoftBank intends to relieve. Under Ganzi's continued leadership, DigitalBridge is expected to put SoftBank's capital to work with a longer-term horizon than its fund structures previously allowed.