DigitalBridge to Sell Wildstone Having Achieved Significant Growth and Market Penetration
BOCA RATON, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 2, 2022-- DigitalBridge Group, Inc. (NYSE: DBRG) today announced that funds affiliated with its investment management arm, DigitalBridge Investment Management (collectively, “DigitalBridge”), have entered into an agreement to sell Wildstone, the leading owner of independent outdoor media infrastructure in the UK, to Antin Infrastructure Partners.
DigitalBridge acquired Wildstone, which owns a high-quality portfolio of over 3,000 billboards in premium locations, in January 2020. Since that time, the DigitalBridge team has worked closely with Wildstone founder and CEO Damian Cox to help the business execute on its billboard digitization strategy.
Steven Sonnenstein, Senior Managing Director at DigitalBridge Investment Management, said, “We are delighted to have delivered on our vision for Wildstone, positioning it at the forefront of the outdoor media infrastructure market. By investing in Wildstone’s billboard digitization strategy and supporting its strategic acquisitions, DigitalBridge has enabled Wildstone to achieve substantial growth and significant market penetration on an accelerated basis.”
Damian Cox said, “We are grateful to Steven and the entire DigitalBridge team for the resources and expertise they have provided over the past two years. Their support has been instrumental in enabling Wildstone to successfully grow while delivering on our mission to drive the digital evolution and shape the future of the outdoor media infrastructure market.”
The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2022.
Greenhill is serving as financial adviser to DigitalBridge and Wildstone; Linklaters is serving as legal adviser to DigitalBridge; Lewis Silkin is serving as legal adviser to Wildstone; and PwC is acting as financial and tax adviser to Wildstone.
About Wildstone
Launched in 2010, Wildstone is the leading owner of independent outdoor media infrastructure in the UK. Wildstone provides leading global media companies with secure long-term access to high quality, flexible media distribution infrastructure. For further information about Wildstone, please visit: www.wildstone.co.uk.
About Antin Infrastructure Partners
Antin Infrastructure Partners is a leading private equity firm focused on infrastructure. With over €22 billion in assets under management across its Flagship, Mid Cap and NextGen investment strategies, Antin targets investments in the energy and environment, telecom, transport and social infrastructure sectors. With offices in Paris, London, New York, Singapore and Luxembourg, Antin employs over 190 professionals dedicated to growing, improving and transforming infrastructure businesses while delivering long-term value to portfolio companies and investors. Majority owned by its partners, Antin is listed on Euronext Paris (Ticker: ANTIN – ISIN: FR0014005AL0). For more information, visit: www.antin-ip.com.
About DigitalBridge Group, Inc.
DigitalBridge (NYSE: DBRG) is a leading global digital infrastructure investment 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 $47 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 sale will be completed within the time frame and on the terms anticipated, 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 Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 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.
Investors:
Severin White
Managing Director, Head of Public Investor Relations
(212) 547-2777
severin.white@digitalbridge.com
Media:
Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher
Jon Keehner / Aura Reinhard
(212) 355-4449
dbrg-jf@joelefrank.com