Wall Street Pit·2025-12-29 16:40Group 1 - SoftBank Group Corp. has agreed to acquire DigitalBridge Group Inc. for $16 per share in cash, valuing the company at approximately $4 billion including debt [1][9] - The acquisition enhances SoftBank's capabilities in scaling data centers and connectivity, which are essential for advancing artificial intelligence applications [1][3] - DigitalBridge manages about $108 billion in assets under management, including a portfolio of leading operators such as DataBank and Vantage Data Centers, providing SoftBank with established relationships in the digital infrastructure sector [2][9] Group 2 - Masayoshi Son views the acquisition as a foundational move for the AI era, emphasizing the increasing demand for computing power and scalable infrastructure [3] - The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026, pending regulatory approvals, and follows a period of intense activity in the data center space [5][9] - DigitalBridge's shares jumped nearly 10% to $15.27 on the announcement day, reflecting a significant increase from a previous market value of about $2.5 billion [6][9] Group 3 - The acquisition aligns with SoftBank's broader ambitions in AI infrastructure, building on its prior experience in asset management acquisitions [7][9] - SoftBank is also involved in the $500 billion Stargate project to develop data centers in the US, committing to deploy $100 billion immediately [8] - The partnership is seen as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to support major tech companies in expanding their AI capabilities [4]