Colony Capital

Founded in 1991 by Tom Barrack, the firm was originally known as Colony Capital and focused on private equity real estate investments. Its early history was marked by high-profile acquisitions in hospitality and entertainment, including Raffles International, Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, Paris Saint-Germain, and Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch. The firm also participated in the $5.5 billion take-private of Station Casinos, an investment that later faced significant challenges during the 2009 economic downturn.

In 2017, the firm underwent a major transformation through a tri-party merger to form Colony NorthStar. Under the leadership of Marc Ganzi, the firm pivoted its strategic focus away from traditional real estate toward digital infrastructure. This shift culminated in the firm rebranding as DigitalBridge in 2021 and selling off the bulk of its legacy real estate assets to Fortress Investment Group. The company now specializes in the physical layers of the digital economy, managing assets such as macro cell towers, hyperscale data centers, and fiber networks.

In late 2025, the firm entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by SoftBank Group for approximately $4 billion. The deal is intended to integrate DigitalBridge's massive digital infrastructure portfolio into SoftBank's broader Artificial Super Intelligence strategy. Upon completion of the deal in 2026, DigitalBridge is expected to operate as a standalone subsidiary of SoftBank, maintaining its focus on the connectivity and capacity required for large-scale AI deployment.