DigitalBridge ups ante on renewable sources, towers and AI

DigitalBridge, controller of Brazil’s Scala and LatAm tower and fiber companies, is doubling down on datacenter energy efficiency, tower deployment opportunities and AI.

The strategies were highlighted by company executives during 2024 Investor Day on Monday. 

In Latin America, Florida-based DigitalBridge’s leading operation is Brazil-based hyperscale company Scala Data Centers, which has datacenters and major projects underway in Brazil, Mexico, Chile and Colombia.

The other Latin American portfolio companies are Brazil-based tower firm Highline, Chilean fiber group Mundo and tower companies Mexico Telecom Partners (MTP) and Andean Tower Partners (ATP).

In the presentation, DigitalBridge highlighted Scala’s datacenter campuses in Brazil (Tamboré) and Chile (Concepción) as examples of hubs for AI. 

The campuses were included together with other constructions around the world as DigitalBridge said it aims to take advantage of the growing needs of the world’s leading technology companies fueled by demand for genAI.

At the end of March, datacenters accounted for roughly 40% of the company’s global portfolio, followed by towers with 30%, fiber (20%) and small cells (10%), according to its financial results.

Nevertheless, the company is optimistic about the long-term implications for tower investments in key markets, including Latin America.

DigitalBridge reports over 89,000 active tower sites in more than 10 countries, including the portfolios of Highline, ATP and MTP. In developing markets, the group said more towers per population are necessary to reduce network congestion and latency.

“DigitalBridge continues to pursue tower acquisitions globally, focusing on markets with strong growth potential for 5G and AI applications,” CEO Marc Ganzi told investors in April in an earnings call. 

“The company views towers as essential infrastructure for supporting the increasing data demands and connectivity requirements of advanced technologies,” he added.

PERFORMANCE

DigitalBridge reported total revenues of US$74.4mn globally in Q1, with fee revenue up 21% to U$72.8mn. The company managed to narrow its losses to US$30.8mn from US$292mn in 1Q23.

From a portfolio standpoint, the group ended March with over US$80bn of assets under management, up 16% on a year earlier.

North America and Europe represent, together, 65% of the company’s business. Asia comes next with 25%. Rest of World, which includes Latin America, had a 10% slice.

In sustainability, DigitalBridge reported Scala using 100% certified renewable energy and going down to a PUE rate below 1.4. 

Switch, another DigitalBridge datacenter portfolio company, is going for a PUE of 1.18, it said in the Investor Day presentation.

The PUE metric is calculated by dividing the total facility power (the power entering the site) by the IT equipment power (the power effectively used to run the machines).

CAPITAL

Overall, DigitalBridge said it closed commitments on US$1.1bn in new capital in Q1, up 47% over the prior year period.

Also, it remains on track to meet or exceed its 2024 capital formation targets.

The company claims to have over 2GW in datacenter capacity under construction globally, with a pipeline exceeding 5GW, and US$15bn budgeted for capex across its portfolio in 2024.