BOCA RATON, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--DigitalBridge Group, Inc. (NYSE: DBRG) (“DigitalBridge” or the “Company”) today announced the closing of the first stage of its previously announced recapitalization of its portfolio company DataBank, a leading nationwide edge data center platform.
New investors joined Swiss Life Asset Management AG (“Swiss Life Asset Managers”) and EDF Invest (“EDF Invest”), increasing the size of this initial stage. As a result, 35% of the fully diluted equity interests in DataBank were sold for approximately $1.5 billion in cash, an increase from the anticipated $1.2 billion.
In connection with the completion of this initial phase of the recapitalization, DigitalBridge received cash proceeds of $318 million, up from the $230 million initially expected, and its ownership in DataBank was reduced to 13.4%. The recapitalization continues to imply a pre-transaction net equity value of DigitalBridge’s ownership of $905 million, reflecting a 2.0x multiple of invested capital (MOIC) since DigitalBridge’s first balance sheet investment in December 2019.
Marc Ganzi, CEO of DigitalBridge, said, “We are pleased to welcome Swiss Life and EDF as new DataBank shareholders, along with a number of new investors who have invested alongside of the consortium following our original announcement. The formation of this new permanent capital vehicle enables DigitalBridge shareholders to maintain exposure to the next phase of value creation at DataBank while freeing up significant capital at an attractive valuation that reflects DigitalBridge’s track record of investing successfully across the digital infrastructure ecosystem.”
DataBank is the largest edge infrastructure operator in the U.S., enabling the world’s largest enterprises, technology and content providers to consistently deploy and manage their mission-critical applications and data across a nationwide platform. DataBank’s portfolio consists of more than 65 data centers, 20 interconnection hubs in more than 27 markets, on-ramps to an ecosystem of cloud providers, and a modular edge data center platform.
Subsequent stages of the recapitalization are expected to result in incremental new investors acquiring ownership interests in DataBank from existing investors, including DigitalBridge, prior to the anticipated completion of the recapitalization in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Additional details regarding the recapitalization are contained in a Current Report on Form 8-K to be filed by the Company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
About DigitalBridge Group, Inc.
DigitalBridge (NYSE: DBRG) is a leading global digital infrastructure firm. With a heritage of over 25 years investing in and operating businesses across the digital ecosystem including cell towers, data centers, fiber, small cells, and edge infrastructure, the DigitalBridge team manages a $48 billion portfolio of digital infrastructure assets on behalf of its limited partners and shareholders. Headquartered in Boca Raton, DigitalBridge has key offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, and Singapore. For more information, visit: www.digitalbridge.com
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements relate to expectations, beliefs, projections, future plans and strategies, anticipated events or trends and similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” or “potential” or the negative of these words and phrases or similar words or phrases which are predictions of or indicate future events or trends and which do not relate solely to historical matters. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and contingencies, many of which are beyond our control, and may cause actual results to differ significantly from those expressed in any forward-looking statement. Factors that might cause such a difference include, without limitation, whether the final stage(s) of the DataBank recapitalization will be completed on the timeframe anticipated or at all, whether the Company will realize any of the anticipated benefits from the DataBank recapitalization, and other risks and uncertainties, including those detailed in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2022 and June 30, 2022, and its other reports filed from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). All forward-looking statements reflect the Company’s good faith beliefs, assumptions and expectations, but they are not guarantees of future performance. The Company cautions investors not to unduly rely on any forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this current report. The Company is under no duty to update any of these forward-looking statements after the date of this release, nor to conform prior statements to actual results or revised expectations, and the Company does not intend to do so.
