Wafra Acquires $400M Stake in Digital Colony
Wafra is expected to plow more than $400 million into the Digital Colony platform, including permanent capital to pursue investments in cell towers, data centers, fiber, and small cells.
Affiliates of New York-based Wafra Inc. will acquire a minority stake in Digital Colony, the digital investment management division of Colony Capital.
Wafra is expected to plow more than $400 million into the Digital Colony platform, including permanent capital to pursue investments in cell towers, data centers, fiber, and small cells.
“We are thrilled to welcome Wafra as a strategic investor in Digital Colony,” Marc Ganzi, CEO of Colony Capital, said in a prepared statement. “This investment will build on our successful early investments together, while accelerating Colony Capital’s long-term growth strategy.”
Wafra’s work with Los-Angeles based Colony Capital goes back to 2017 when Wafra first invested alongside Digital Bridge, a Digital Colony subsidiary. Wafra supported Digital Colony’s inaugural $4.1 billion Digital Colony Partners I fund, the first fund of its kind dedicated solely to investing in digital infrastructure.
“Digital Colony has all the attributes of the most successful managers we have partnered with: a top management team with a track record of success, a differentiated strategy, and exposure to a large, growing opportunity set,” Russell Valdez, chief investment officer of Wafra, said in a company statement. “At Wafra, we have a track record of backing managers that are leaders in their respective sectors, and Digital Colony’s distinction in digital infrastructure is best-in-class.”
Colony Capital manages $50 billion in real assets on behalf of its shareholders and limited partners, Included in that figure is more than $20 billion in digital real estate investments made through Digital Colony.
Wafra and its affiliates manage assets and commitments of approximately $25 billion.
Last month, Colony Capital and Vantage Data Centers led an investment group in a multi-billion-dollar partnership aimed at expanding Vantage’s data centers in North American and Europe. The Colony-led group will invest $1.2 billion in Vantage’s portfolio, including 12 stabilized North American data centers, which span more than 1.4 million gross square feet.
In January, Wafra Capital Partners and Nightingale Properties secured a $145 million fixed-rate loan to acquire 111 Wall St. in Downtown Manhattan. The 1968 property, formerly known as the Citibank Building, stands 24 stories tall and spans 1.1 million square feet.
In its investment deal with Digital Colony, Wafra was advised by BofA Securities as its exclusive financial advisor and by Fried Frank as legal advisor. Colony Capital was advised by Sullivan & Cromwell and Morgan Lewis as legal advisors.