Angel City is set to become the world’s most valuable professional women’s sports team after finalising a landmark ownership agreement with Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger and his wife, Willow Bay, the club announced on Wednesday.
Iger and Bay will become the controlling owners of Angel City, which is based in Los Angeles, in a sale that will value the club at $250m. The figure shatters the $120m the Levine Leichtman family paid for the San Diego Wave in March, which was then a record-breaking price for a National Women’s Soccer League team.
“ACFC and these incredible athletes have already had a tremendous impact on the NWSL, women’s soccer, and the Los Angeles community,” Bay said in a statement. “With this investment of resources and capital, we hope to accelerate the growth of the Club and the NWSL.”
The sale, which is pending league approval, will see Iger and Bay invest an undisclosed amount, of which $50m will be used as an injection of capital to fund the club’s future growth.
“We know [Bay and Iger] are the right partners to lead us into this new era – they are committed to further strengthening ACFC’s position as a preeminent organization and brand in women’s sports and to championing the team’s broader mission, including the advancement of equity for athletes and women founded businesses,” the ACFC board of directors said in a statement.
Bay will have full control of the club’s board, which will continue to include the club’s previous owner and Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian, actor Natalie Portman, entrepreneur Julie Uhrman and early investor Gillian Berry.
The club was founded in 2020 by Portman, Uhrman and venture capitalist Kara Nortman, and has numerous smaller investors including retired athletes Billie Jean King, Abby Wambach and Lindsey Vonn and actors Jennifer Garner and Eva Longoria.
“This is really just the start. I’m excited to see this continued investment and to keep building Angel City into what I know can be the biggest brand in all of women’s professional sports,” Ohanian told Reuters this year.
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Angel City have amassed numerous commercial partners and season-ticket holders and have played in packed stadiums since their debut season in 2022. In 2023, the club generated the highest revenue of any women’s team in the world, and topped the NWSL in sponsorship and total revenue. Angel City’s home attendance was also the second-best in the league, with the club attracting an average of 19,756 fans per game.
The team have struggled on the pitch this season though: they sit 11th in the NWSL table, three points off the playoff places.
