- SoftBank agreed to buy DigitalBridge in an all-cash deal at $16.00 per share (about $4.0B enterprise value), approved by an independent committee and the full board, with closing targeted for H2 2026 pending regulatory reviews.
- The offer implies about a 15% premium to the pre-deal close and roughly a 50% premium to the unaffected 52-week average, but sits below prior analyst valuations.
- Analysts had projected materially higher upside (roughly $20–$35) tied to AI-driven demand for data centers, fiber, towers, and edge infrastructure.
- Johnson Fistel is investigating potential fiduciary breaches, with some shareholders arguing the board may have accepted a price that undervalues the company and limits further upside.
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The transaction between SoftBank and DigitalBridge brings immediate clarity around valuation, premium negotiation, and the spectrum of risk for investors, especially in light of high analyst expectations. SoftBank’s $16/share offer is legally secure in terms of board process—it was unanimously approved by both a special committee of independent directors and the full board—mitigating procedural risk. However, the premium—though substantial relative to recent trading—falls well short of pre-announcement expectations based on investor projections and analyst forecasts of $20-23+ share prices. That gap has seeded discontent among some shareholders and opened the door for legal challenges, as seen in Johnson Fistel’s investigation into potential fiduciary breaches.
Another key issue is opportunity cost and lost upside: once the deal is completed, future growth in AI infrastructure demand—which analysts believe is substantial—cannot be captured by public shareholders unless future offers or contesting bids emerge. For SoftBank, the acquisition provides strategic value far greater than pure financial return: it secures a platform of data centers, fiber and other infrastructure needed for scaling artificial intelligence. This positions SoftBank to move downstream in the digital infrastructure stack, potentially giving it an advantage over peers.
Regulatory and execution risk remains nontrivial. Given the international nature of SoftBank and its acquisition of a U.S. infrastructure manager, agencies such as the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), as well as industry-specific regulatory approvals, will almost certainly scrutinize the deal. The timing (H2 2026) leaves room for intervening developments (alternative bids, changes in regulation, shifts in capital markets). For shareholders weighing the deal, key open questions surround whether a higher offer is likely, whether the board sufficiently shopped the company, and whether the projected growth underpinning analyst forecasts is credible.
Supporting Notes
- SoftBank will acquire all outstanding common stock of DigitalBridge for $16.00 per share in cash; enterprise value ~US $4.0 billion. Transaction unanimously recommended by a committee of independent directors and approved by the full board. Closing expected H2 2026, regulatory approvals required.
- $16 offer reflects ~15% premium over the Dec. 26, 2025 closing price and ~50% premium over the company’s unaffected 52-week average as of December 4, 2025.
- DigitalBridge manages approximately US$108 billion of digital infrastructure assets globally, including data centers, towers, fiber, small cells, and edge infrastructure.
- RBC Capital raised its target for DigitalBridge to $23/share before the deal announcement (keeping a positive rating), while JPMorgan had estimated acquisition value could range from $25-35 based on future earnings estimates.
- Following the deal announcement, several analysts downgraded the stock to Align with the acquisition price (e.g. from Outperform to Sector Perform) and adjusted price targets to $16.00.
- Shareholder rights firm Johnson Fistel has initiated an investigation into whether DigitalBridge board members may have breached their fiduciary duties by approving a deal that some believe undervalues the company.