Japan’s SoftBank Getting Closer to Owing U.S. ISP WideOpenWest
DigitalBridge shareholders approve broadband company’s sale to SoftBank.
WASHINGTON, April 27, 2026 — DigitalBridge stockholders on April 23 overwhelmingly approved the company’s $4 billion sale to SoftBank Group Corp., clearing a major hurdle for the multibillion‑dollar deal.
At a virtual special meeting, DigitalBridge Group said shareholders voted 96% in favor of the deal, which will pay investors $16 per share in cash once the transaction closes. DigitalBridge, with minority partner Crestview Partners, acquired WideOpenWest (WOW!) only in late December 2025 at a $1.5 billion enterprise valuation. WOW! has about 460,000 broadband subscribers.
Based in Tokyo, SoftBank is a $150 billion technology investment firm whose largest individual shareholder is Japanese citizen Masayoshi Son. The company acquired telecom company Sprint in 2013 and British semiconductor giant Arm in 2016.
Last November, SoftBank invested a staggering $41 billion in Open AI, the maker of ChatGPT, selling all of its shares in chip maker Nvidia and over 40 million shares in telecom provider T-Mobile to do so. SoftBank is a major backer of Open AI’s Stargate project.
On Feb. 18, 2026, DigitalBridge and SoftBank filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission seeking approval of the transaction. The agency has not issued a public notice seeking public comment.
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