DigitalBridge Group announced the closing of the first stage of its previously announced recapitalization of its portfolio company DataBank, a leading nationwide edge data center 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.
New investors joined Swiss Life Asset Management AG and 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.”
www.digitalbridge.com