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SoftBank Group will acquire digital infrastructure investor DigitalBridge Group in a deal valued at $4 billion, the companies said on Monday, as the Japanese investment firm looks to deepen its AI-related portfolio. The acquisition would expand SoftBank’s exposure to digital infrastructure as the Japanese conglomerate is positioning its portfolio to focus on artificial intelligence. DigitalBridge shares rose about 9.7% to $15.27 on Monday, following a 45% rise earlier this month after Bloomberg News first reported the acquisition talks. The $16 per share offer represents a 15% premium over DigitalBridge’s closing price on Friday and values the company at $2.92 billion, with the deal expected to close in the second half of next year. SoftBank’s billionaire founder Masayoshi Son is seeking to capitalize on surging demand for the computing capacity that underpins artificial intelligence applications. The acquisition “is certainly a milestone in solving critical infrastructure issues,” said Jacob Yahiayan, CEO at DigitalBridge investor Urban Logistic Advisory Services, but noted SoftBank is still far from controlling 10% of the global hardware- and software-as-a-service market. DigitalBridge invests in digital infrastructure sectors such as data centers, cell towers, fiber networks, small-cell systems and edge infrastructure, with a portfolio including companies such as Vantage Data Centers, Zayo, Switch, and AtlasEdge. Founded in 1991 as real estate-focused Colony Capital, the firm pivoted under CEO Marc Ganzi into digital infrastructure and rebranded as DigitalBridge in 2021 after shedding most of its legacy property assets. Ganzi will continue leading DigitalBridge as a separately managed platform, the companies said. As of September 30, DigitalBridge managed around $108 billion in assets, making it one of the largest dedicated investors in the digital ecosystem. The company, along with OpenAI, Oracle and Abu Dhabi-based tech investor MGX, is investing billions of dollars in the Stargate project, a large-scale computing and infrastructure initiative aimed at supporting advanced AI development. OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank said in September they plan to build five new computing sites across Texas, New Mexico, and Ohio, which are expected to have a combined power capacity of about seven gigawatts when in operation. Akash Sriram and Mihika Sharma, Reuters
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Wall Street’s main indexes kicked off the final week of the year on a softer note on Monday, as heavyweight technology stocks retreated from last week’s gains that had pushed the S&P 500 to record highs. The information technology sector weighed on the S&P 500, as most tech and AI-linked stocks declined, with Nvidia down 1.8%, Broadcom off 1%, and Palantir Technologies shedding 1.4%. “This is (not) the beginning of the end of the tech dominance, it’ll turn out to be a buying opportunity,” said Hank Smith, director and head of investment strategy at Haverford Trust. “A big reason for that is the top tech names, excluding Tesla, do not have challenging valuations given their growth rate, the moat around their business and their financial strength, which is unparalleled.” Tesla also fell 1.8% after hitting a record high last week and weighed on the consumer discretionary sector. Materials slipped 1%, with precious metal miners sliding as silver dropped sharply after topping $80 per ounce for the first time, while gold also fell after back-to-back record highs last week. Conversely, energy stocks gained the most, up 1.2%, tracking a 2% rise in oil prices. At 11:13 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 217.14 points, or 0.45%, to 48,493.83, the S&P 500 lost 28.77 points, or 0.42%, to 6,901.26 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 150.02 points, or 0.63%, to 23,443.07. Stocks pulled back after the S&P 500 was in the 1% range of the 7,000-point mark, and the blue-chip Dow hit a record closing high last week. Some investors were eyeing a “Santa Claus rally”, a seasonal phenomenon where the S&P 500 typically posts gains in the last five trading days of the year and the first two in January, according to Stock Trader’s Almanac. All three indexes are headed for firm monthly gains, with the Dow and S&P 500 on pace for their eighth consecutive month in the green. The bull market, which began in October 2022, stayed intact despite concerns over high valuations of technology companies and market volatility, on the back of continued optimism around AI, interest-rate cuts and a resilient economy. All three main indexes are set for their third consecutive yearly gain. On the macro front, minutes from the Fed’s previous meeting and a weekly reading of jobless claims will be on the radar in an otherwise data-light week. The S&P 500 has added about 17% so far this year, as the frenzy to capitalize on AI helped the U.S. benchmark overtake Europe’s STOXX 600, despite investors diversifying away from U.S. stocks earlier in the year. DigitalBridge gained 9.6%, with Japan’s SoftBank Group set to acquire the digital infrastructure investor in a deal valued at $4 billion. Trading volumes are expected to be light in the holiday-affected week with U.S. markets shut on Thursday for New Year’s Day. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.85-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 2.56-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 posted 9 new 52-week highs and one new low while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 22 new highs and 177 new lows. Purvi Agarwal and Shashwat Chauhan, Reuters
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E-Commerce
Below, Muriel Wilkins shares five key insights from her new book, Leadership Unblocked: Break Through the Beliefs That Limit Your Potential. Muriel is the founder and CEO of the leadership advisory firm Paravis Partners. She is also an executive coach to high-performing C-suite and senior executives, as well as host of the award-winning podcast Coaching Real Leaders. Whats the big idea? When leaders get stuck, their first instinct is to do more and push harder. But those actions dont create lasting results because theyre focused on what they do and not on what they think. Sustainable leadership growth comes from examining the beliefs that drive our actions. Left unchecked, we risk stunting our leadership potential. Listen to the audio version of this Book Biteread by Muriel herselfbelow, or in the Next Big Idea App. 1. Youre part of the problem. Every leader goes through rough patches. If you havent yet, you will. Ive seen many accomplished leaders, from executives to emerging managers, eventually hit a wall. Theyre chasing results that remain out of reach, struggling to influence, or trying to find their footing in a new role. No matter their title or situation, they share one thing in common: something is standing in the way of their leadership potential. Despite their best efforts, theyre still blocked. Usually, its because theyre focusing on whats happening around them instead of whats happening within them. Many high achievers try to hustle their way through whatever is holding them back. They double down on tactics and skills, thinking that if they just do more, theyll break through. But until you turn inward and uncover whats holding you back, youll keep repeating the same struggle and leadership will feel harder, more draining, and less rewarding than necessary. 2. Old beliefs cant create new results. Weve all been told that if you want to change something, change your actions: work harder, build new habits, learn new skills. But a change in behavior only scratches the surface. Real change happens on the level of your beliefs. Beliefs that helped you succeed at one stage of your career may no longer serve you during the next. The Buddha said, What we think, we become. Modern research backs that up. Scholars of psychology like Alia Crumb, Ellen Langer, and Carol Dweck have shown that what you believe about yourself, your circumstances, and your ability to grow has a measurable impact on outcomes. Beliefs act like the internal code that drives your leadership operating system. Beliefs that helped you succeed at one stage of your career may no longer serve you during the next. If you believe you need to have all the answers, youll struggle to empower others. If you believe your value comes from being in the details, you lose sight of leading through others. If you believe you cant make a mistake, youll avoid risk and stifle innovation. You cant lead at a new level with the same inner operating system. Until you evolve your beliefs, your results will stay the same. 3. Seven common beliefs quietly keep high performers stuck. Most leaders share a common set of beliefs that keep them stuck. I call these hidden blockers because they keep us locked in unproductive patterns, and theyre experts at eluding detection: I need to be involved. I need it done now. I know Im right. I cant make a mistake. If I can do it, so can you. I cant say no. I dont belong here. These self-talk mantras arent character flaws. Theyre old success strategies. When you can identify the belief youre leading from, you regain choice. Awareness is the first step to unblocking. 4. Ease comes when you can uncover, unpack, and unblock. To lead with more ease, the work is to uncover, unpack, and unblock what drives you: Uncover: Bring your belief to awareness. Unpack: Examine where the belief came from and how it shows up. Unblock: Reframe the belief so that it serves how you need to lead. This framework isnt about positive thinking; its about strategic thinking. When you align your beliefs with the present moment, you expand your range and elevate your leadership altitude. 5. Great leaders learn to coach themselves. The ultimate goal is developing the capacity to coach yourself. When you can observe your patterns, question your beliefs, and realign in real time, you no longer need a crisis or coach to spark growth. You become your own coachgrounded, adaptive, and effectivein each moment. As you increase your capacity to coach yourself, you increase your capacity to coach others, which after all is what great leaders do. A leader cannot transform an organization beyond their own capacity to transform themselves. To lead differently, you must think differently. A leader cannot transform an organization beyond their own capacity to transform themselves. It can feel lonely and difficult at the top, but you dont have to suffer through your leadership challenges, nor should others suffer because of how you lead. Becoming free of your hidden blockers unlocks your potential for achieving goals, delivering results, and leading with ease. Enjoy our full library of Book Bitesread by the authors!in the Next Big Idea App. This article originally appeared in Next Big Idea Club magazine and is reprinted with permission.
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E-Commerce
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