Colony Capital’s 2019 purchase of Digital Bridge came with a planned leadership handoff: Tom Barrack would leave the CEO role when Digital Bridge co-founder Marc Ganzi took over. The acquisition closed on July 25, 2019, but Ganzi’s appointment as CEO did not take effect until July 1, 2020. Barrack remained Executive Chairman after that transition, before leaving the role and board in 2021.
Why did Barrack plan to step down?
The succession was announced alongside Colony Capital’s move into digital infrastructure. The company said it was acquiring Digital Bridge Holdings, an investment manager focused on digital real estate and infrastructure, and named its co-founder Marc Ganzi as Barrack’s successor. Under the stated plan, Barrack would step down as CEO once Ganzi became CEO while continuing as Executive Chairman.
In its July 30, 2019 Form 8-K, Colony recorded Barrack’s plan: “Barrack, Jr., has indicated that, upon the appointment of Mr. Ganzi as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Barrack would step down from his role as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer but would continue in his role as Executive Chairman.” Colony Capital’s transaction filing
Colony described the acquisition as part of a strategic move toward digital infrastructure and real estate. The digital ecosystem it identified included data centers, cell towers, fiber networks, and small cells. Those were the company’s stated strategic aims; the transaction figures alone do not establish whether the acquisition achieved its intended returns. Colony’s 2020 SEC filing
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What did Colony buy, and for how much?
Colony acquired Digital Bridge Holdings, LLC, an investment manager, not each underlying portfolio asset outright. The deal closed on July 25, 2019, for an aggregate purchase price of $325 million.
| Consideration | Amount reported in Colony’s 2019 filing |
|---|---|
| Cash | $216.7 million |
| Operating partnership units | 21,478,515 units |
| Aggregate purchase price | $325 million |
The $325 million is the reported acquisition price, not an all-cash payment, an assets-under-management figure, or a measure of the deal’s later performance. Colony Capital’s transaction filing
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When did Ganzi actually become CEO?
The 2019 announcement described a future transition rather than an immediate change. Marc Ganzi became Colony’s CEO effective July 1, 2020, nearly a year after the acquisition closed. Barrack then continued as Executive Chairman. DigitalBridge’s 2021 quarterly filing
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What happened to Barrack and Colony after the handoff?
Barrack’s Executive Chairman role was eliminated effective April 1, 2021, and he resigned from the board in July 2021. Colony Capital changed its name to DigitalBridge Group, Inc., effective June 21, 2021. These later events followed the CEO succession announced in 2019 and completed in 2020. DigitalBridge’s 2022 proxy statement Name-change filing
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