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The Angel City Football Club are getting new controlling owners, Disney CEO Bob Iger and USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism Dean Willow Bay.
This will happen thanks to an agreement between Angel City FC and the media power couple that the Los Angeles-based National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) team unveiled on Wednesday.
Under the deal, Angel City FC said Iger and Bay "will acquire the controlling stake in ACFC at an Enterprise Value of $250 million, making it the most valuable women’s sports team in the world." The married couple will put $50 million into the team on top of their controlling stake.
Chief Executive Officer of Disney Robert Iger and his wife Willow Bay arrive for the 2023 Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 1, 2023 in New York. (Photo by Angela Weiss / AFP / Getty Images)
"As fans and friends of ACFC, we are thrilled to join this team as owners at this historic moment in sports," Bay said in a statement. "With this investment of resources and capital, we hope to accelerate the growth of the Club and the NWSL."
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This comes after reports earlier in the month had suggested a massive investment by Iger and Bay into the women’s pro soccer team could be imminent. Angel City FC was originally created four years ago.
A fan waves an Angel City FC flag during a game between Angel City FC and Bay FC at BMO Stadium on March 17, 2024 in Los Angeles. (Katharine Lotze/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Iger and Bay’s acquisition of the Angel City FC controlling stake should be completed within one to two months, contingent on the agreement getting league sign-off and satisfying other "customary closing conditions," according to the soccer team.
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Once that happens, Bay will act as the controlling owner for the team, including leading the Angel City FC board of directors and serving as the team’s representative on the NWSL board of governors. Natalie Portman and Julie Uhrman, two of the team’s co-founders, as well as founding controlling owner Alexis Ohanian and early investor Gillian Berry, will keep their existing board seats, Angel City FC said.
A general view of the field during the game between the Angel City FC and the Orlando Pride at BMO Stadium on June 30, 2024 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images / Getty Images)
"I have stories for another day of professional investors back in 2019 who told me investing in an NWSL team would be a total failure," Ohanian, who co-founded Redditt, wrote Wednesday morning on X. "Needless to say, we’re just getting started and I couldn’t ask for better partners than Willow & Bob who will have the board control necessary to be true control owners. I’m excited to continue to serve on the board and support this team in the new chapter."
The NWSL itself has been around since 2012.
In addition to Angel City FC, there are 13 other teams: Bay FC, NWSL Boston, Chicago Red Stars, Houston Dash, Kansas City Current, NJ/NY Gotham FC, North Carolina Courage, Orlando Price, Portland Thorns FC, Racing Louisville FC, San Diego Wave FC, Seattle Reign FC, Utah Royals FC and Washington Spirit.
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