DigitalBridge and Crestview Partners Complete Take-Private Acquisition of WideOpenWest (WOW!)

Rhea-AI Summary

DigitalBridge (NYSE: DBRG) and Crestview Partners completed a $1.5 billion take-private acquisition of WideOpenWest (WOW!) on December 31, 2025. Affiliated funds will support expanded fiber deployments, network modernization initiatives, and accelerated growth across WOW!'s U.S. service areas. WOW! shareholders received $5.20 cash per share. As a result, WOW! common stock is no longer traded or listed on any public securities exchange. Financial and legal advisors for the transaction included Centerview Partners, LionTree Advisors, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Wachtell Lipton, Simpson Thacher, Davis Polk, and others.

Positive

• Transaction value of approximately $1.5 billion
• Shareholders received $5.20 cash per WOW! share
• Plans to expand fiber deployments and modernize networks

Negative

• WOW! common stock no longer traded or listed (loss of public liquidity)

Key Figures

Transaction value $1.5 billion Take‑private acquisition of WideOpenWest (WOW!)

WOW! cash consideration $5.20 per share Cash payment to WOW! shareholders in take‑private deal

WOW! enterprise value approximately $1.5 billion Enterprise value assigned in the transaction

Market Reality Check

$15.28 Last Close

Volume Volume 15,039,534 is 30% above the 11,599,943 share 20‑day average. normal

Technical Price 15.28 is trading above the 200‑day MA at 10.81, indicating a pre‑news uptrend.

Peers on Argus

Peers show mixed moves: BBUC -3.02%, PAX -1.12%, UTF +0.25%, GCMG +0.09%, GDV -0.04%, while DBRG was up 0.13%, pointing to stock‑specific drivers.

Historical Context

Date	Event	Sentiment	Move	Catalyst
2025-12-29	Company buyout deal	Positive	+9.6%	SoftBank agreed to acquire DBRG at a cash premium per share.
2025-12-18	Portfolio asset sale	Neutral	+0.1%	InfraBridge agreed to sell majority stakes in two UK airports.
2025-12-02	Portfolio company sale	Neutral	-0.4%	Digita Group agreed to be acquired by GI Partners from DBRG funds.
2025-11-26	AI data center MOU	Positive	+1.4%	MOU with KT to explore large‑scale AI data center developments.
2025-11-18	Fundraising milestone	Positive	-1.6%	Announced $11.7B total capital formation for DigitalBridge Partners III.

Pattern Detected

Recent material deals and AI/digital infrastructure expansions often coincide with mild‑to‑strong positive reactions, but fund‑raising and portfolio updates have sometimes seen muted or negative follow‑through.

Recent Company History

Over the past months, DBRG has reported several strategic milestones. On 2025-11-18, it closed DBP III with $11.7 billion in commitments, but shares fell 1.59%. An AI data center MOU with KT on 2025-11-26 saw a 1.38% gain. Portfolio activity included the Digita sale agreement on 2025-12-02 and airport stake sales via InfraBridge on 2025-12-18, with minimal price impact. The announced SoftBank acquisition of DBRG on 2025-12-29 drove a stronger 9.63% move. Today’s WOW! take‑private adds another infrastructure platform investment to this sequence.

Market Pulse Summary

This announcement details completion of a $1.5 billion take‑private of WOW!, giving DBRG‑managed funds control of a U.S. fiber‑broadband operator. It follows a series of 2025 deals spanning towers, airports, and AI‑focused infrastructure, plus DBRG’s own pending $16.00-per‑share buyout. Investors may watch how WOW!’s fiber deployments, network modernization, and growth targets progress, and how this platform complements DBRG’s broader digital infrastructure and AI‑connectivity strategy over time.

Key Terms

enterprise value financial

"WOW! shareholders will receive $5.20 in cash per WOW! share in a transaction with an enterprise value of approximately $1.5 billion"

Enterprise value is the total worth of a company, reflecting what it would cost to buy the entire business. It includes the company's market value plus any debts, minus its cash holdings, offering a comprehensive picture of its true value. Investors use it to compare companies regardless of their capital structures, helping them assess how much they would need to pay to acquire the business.

AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.

$1.5 billion transaction to expand fiber deployments, launch network modernization initiatives, and accelerate growth 

BOCA RATON, Fla., Dec. 31, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- DigitalBridge Group, Inc. ("DigitalBridge" or the "Company") (NYSE: DBRG), a leading global alternative asset manager dedicated to investing in digital infrastructure, and Crestview Partners ("Crestview"), a leading private equity firm, today announced that affiliated investment funds have completed their previously announced take-private acquisition of WideOpenWest, Inc. ("WOW!"), a top provider of fiber-broadband internet services and advanced connectivity solutions in the United States.

"We are excited to complete this transaction and begin a new era of growth. We look forward to investing in network and customer experience enhancements, pursuing operational excellence, and delivering an exceptional connected experience over WOW!'s high-performance networks," said Jonathan Friesel, Senior Managing Director and Head of Fiber at DigitalBridge.

Brian Cassidy, President and Head of Media at Crestview Partners, said, "As a private company, WOW! will have strategic flexibility and resources to compete more effectively in its markets and pursue long-term growth. We believe this strategic infrastructure investment will allow us to bring advanced technology to these markets more quickly and will strengthen WOW!'s competitive position."

WOW! shareholders will receive $5.20 in cash per WOW! share in a transaction with an enterprise value of approximately $1.5 billion. With the completion of the transaction, WOW! common stock is no longer traded or listed on any public securities exchange.

Advisors
Centerview Partners LLC acted as the sole financial advisor to the special committee of the WOW! Board of Directors formed to lead the evaluation of the potential transaction, and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz acted as its legal counsel.

LionTree Advisors acted as sole financial advisor to DigitalBridge and Crestview. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs served as structuring advisors to the transaction.

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP acted as legal counsel to DigitalBridge, and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP acted as legal counsel to Crestview.

About DigitalBridge

DigitalBridge (NYSE: DBRG) is a leading global alternative asset manager dedicated to investing in digital infrastructure. With a heritage of 30 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 $108 billion of infrastructure assets on behalf of its limited partners and shareholders. For more information, visit: www.digitalbridge.com.

About Crestview

Founded in 2004, Crestview is a New York-based private equity firm focused on the middle market. The firm manages funds with over $10 billion of aggregate capital commitments and is led by a group of partners who have complementary experience and backgrounds in private equity, finance, operations and management. Crestview has senior investment professionals focused on sourcing and managing investments in each of the firm's specialty areas: media, industrials, and financial services. For more information, please visit www.crestview.com.

About WOW! 

WOW! is one of the nation's leading broadband providers delivering high-speed Internet services, cable TV, home phone, mobile phone, business data, voice, and cloud services to homes and businesses in 20 markets, including in Michigan, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. For more information, visit wowway.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release that are not historical facts contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements related to the acquisition of WOW! by funds affiliated with DigitalBridge Investments and Crestview Partners (the "Transaction"), including financial estimates and statements as to the effects of the Transaction.  These forward-looking statements represent our goals, beliefs, plans and expectations about our prospects for the future and other future events. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not historical fact and can be identified by terms such as "may," "intend," "might," "will," "should," "could," "would," "anticipate," "expect," "believe," "estimate," "plan," "project," "predict," "potential," "continue," "likely," "target" or similar expressions or the negative of these terms  or other comparable terminology that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes. By their nature, forward-looking statements address matters that involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend upon future circumstances that may or may not occur. These and other forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. Important risk factors that may cause such a difference include, but are not limited to: (i) potential litigation relating to the Transaction that could be instituted against DigitalBridge, Crestview, WOW! or their respective affiliates, directors, managers or officers, including the effects of any outcomes related thereto; (ii) the risk that disruptions from the Transaction, including the diversion of management's attention from WOW!'s ongoing business operations, will harm WOW!'s business, including current plans and operations; (iii) the ability of WOW! to retain and hire key personnel in light of the Transaction; (iv) potential adverse reactions or changes to business relationships resulting from the  completion of the Transaction; and (v) the risks and uncertainties pertaining to WOW!'s business, including those set forth in Part I, Item 1A of WOW!'s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, Part II, Item 1A of WOW!'s subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and other filings made by WOW! with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The foregoing list of important factors is not exhaustive. Unlisted factors may present significant additional obstacles to the realization of forward-looking statements. Consequences of material differences in results as compared with those anticipated in the forward-looking statements could include, among other things, business disruption, operational problems, financial loss, legal liability to third parties and similar risks, any of which could have a material impact on WOW!'s financial condition, results of operations, credit rating or liquidity. In light of the significant uncertainties in these forward-looking statements, WOW! cannot assure you that the forward-looking statements in this communication will prove to be accurate, and you should not regard these statements as a representation or warranty by WOW!, its directors, officers or employees or any other person that WOW! will achieve its objectives and plans in any specified time frame, or at all. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and WOW! does not undertake to and specifically disclaims any obligation to publicly release the results of any updates or revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect future events or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events, except as required by applicable law.

Media Contacts

DigitalBridge
Jonathan Keehner/Sarah Salky
Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher
(212) 355-4449
dbrg-jf@joelefrank.com

Crestview
Jeffrey Taufield or Daniel Yunger
Kekst CNC
(212) 521-4800
jeffrey.taufield@kekstcnc.com or daniel.yunger@kekstcnc.com

WideOpenWest, Inc. 
Debra Havins
Vice President, Corporate Communications
(720) 527-8214
Debra.havins@wowinc.com

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SOURCE DigitalBridge; Crestview Partners; WideOpenWest (WOW!)

FAQ

What did DigitalBridge (DBRG) and Crestview announce about WOW! on December 31, 2025?

They completed a $1.5 billion take-private acquisition of WOW! and will pursue fiber expansion and network modernization.

How much will WOW! shareholders receive in the DBRG/Crestview transaction?

WOW! shareholders received $5.20 in cash per share as part of the transaction.

Is WOW! still publicly traded after the December 31, 2025 transaction?

No. Following completion, WOW! common stock is no longer traded or listed on any public exchange.

What will DigitalBridge (DBRG) and Crestview do with WOW! after taking it private?

They plan to invest in network and customer experience enhancements, expand fiber deployments, and accelerate growth.

Which advisors worked on the DBRG and Crestview acquisition of WOW!?

Advisors included Centerview Partners, LionTree Advisors, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and law firms Wachtell Lipton, Simpson Thacher, and Davis Polk.

What is the effective enterprise value of the take-private deal for WOW!?

The transaction carries an enterprise value of approximately $1.5 billion.