SoftBank Group said it will acquire DigitalBridge Group in an all-cash deal, a move that gives the Japanese investor a larger foothold in the data center and digital-infrastructure supply chain feeding AI buildouts. In the companies’ announcement, SoftBank framed the purchase as a way to scale “next-gen AI infrastructure,” while DigitalBridge said it will keep operating as a separately managed platform.

That platform matters because DigitalBridge-backed Vantage Data Centers is one of the developers building sites tied to OpenAI’s Stargate program. Vantage said its “Lighthouse” campus in Port Washington, Wisconsin, will include four data centers providing close to a gigawatt of AI capacity, with construction scheduled for completion in 2028.

Stargate capacity pipeline

SoftBank is tying this infrastructure expansion to its capital commitment on the model side. The company said it completed an additional $22.5 billion investment in OpenAI on Dec. 26, fulfilling SoftBank’s up-to-$40 billion commitment announced in March 2025.

OpenAI has also been signaling a faster site pipeline under Stargate than it initially outlined. In a September 2025 post, OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank said five new U.S. sites would bring Stargate to nearly 7 gigawatts of planned capacity and more than $400 billion in investment over the next three years, and later updated that the Midwest site would be in Wisconsin and developed with Vantage.

Deal terms and timeline

DigitalBridge said the SoftBank deal values the firm at about $4.0 billion in enterprise value, with SoftBank paying $16 per share and expecting to close in the second half of 2026, subject to approvals. The terms were unanimously recommended by an independent special committee and approved by DigitalBridge’s board, and the companies said Marc Ganzi will continue to lead the business after closing.

Capacity and power

For enterprise buyers, the practical question is whether this kind of vertical alignment tightens access to scarce capacity. CBRE has reported record-low North American data center vacancy and said hyperscalers and AI occupiers are racing to secure power and capacity years ahead of delivery.

Power constraints are the other limiting factor, and that adds weight to platform control. The 451 Research (S&P Global) forecast U.S. data center grid-power demand would rise sharply through 2025 and continue climbing through 2030, while Uptime Institute flagged “worsening power constraints” as operators try to meet AI-era density requirements.

What to watch

Investors will watch for the formal shareholder vote process and regulatory review as DigitalBridge and SoftBank move toward closing, including the companies’ planned SEC filings tied to the transaction. Separately, enterprises tracking Stargate capacity will likely focus on delivery milestones like the Wisconsin Lighthouse schedule through 2028 and any additional site announcements under Stargate.