Willow Bay and Bob Iger are set to become the new controlling owners of Angel City Football Club.
The club announced Wednesday that it had entered into a “definitive agreement” with the couple, which would make Bay and Iger the controlling owners of the club.
Bay, the Dean of USC’s Annenberg School for Communications and Journalism, and Iger, the CEO of the Walt Disney Company, purchased a controlling stake of the club, for an undisclosed amount. The club is valued at $250 million, making Angel City the most valuable women’s sports team in the world. The couple also invested an additional $50 million. Last year, Sportico valued Angel City at $180 million.
The team’s board of directors approved the sale, which will still require approval of the NWSL.
“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. “ACFC and these incredible athletes have already had a tremendous impact on the NWSL, women’s soccer and the Los Angeles community. With this investment of resources and capital, we hope to accelerate the growth of the club and the NWSL.
“Working with the team and the board and the incredible community of ACFC fans, we are committed to advancing the Club’s mission of driving equity on and off the field.”
In the new agreement, Bay “will serve on and have full control” of Angel City’s board, and she will also represent Angel City on the NWSL’s board of governors.
Angel City was founded in 2020 by actress Natalie Portman, venture capitalist Kara Nortman, Julie Uhrman and Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian. It was Ohanian who was the largest shareholder, but he didn’t have board control. Earlier this month as news of the Way-Iger purchase was initially reported, Ohanian lamented about not getting board control, calling it “one of the many hard lessons” that he learned as a first-time sports owner.
Last year, ACFC generated the highest revenue and led the league in attendance, sponsorship and total revenue and the team created a goal to allocate 10% of sponsorship revenue back into the L.A. community.
However, despite their success off the field and at the box office, on-field success has been slow. Angel City missed the playoffs in its first season (2022), rallied in the second half of 2023 to qualify, but was eliminated in the first round and currently sit in 11th place in the 14-team league this season, with 10 games remaining.
Angel City’s investor group is large, including former athletes like Billie Jean King, several USWNT players, actors and other prominent figures. The club plays home games at BMO Stadium, but it has yet to find a dedicated training facility and has trained at Pepperdine and currently at Cal Lutheran in Thousand Oaks.
In March, the four lead investors (Portman, Norman, Uhrman and Ohanian) hired the New York investment bank Moelis and Company to find a new controlling owner.
Going forward, Portman, Uhrman, Ohanian and Gillian Berry will continue to serve on the club’s board of directors.
In a social media post, Uhrman said she was thrilled to welcome Bay and Iger, adding that as the “new controlling owners of ACFC, they will lead us into a new era of growth and further strengthen the club’s position as a leading organization in women’s sports. They want to change the game with us. It’s been a wild ride, we had no playbook. Beyond thankful for the Angel City team, players and community who show up every day to grow our sport and make a positive impact.”
Ohanian said he’s looking forward to working with Bay and Iger.
“We’re just getting started and I couldn’t ask for better partners than Willow and 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.”
NWSL valuations continue to rise. Angel City’s sale comes a few months after San Diego Wave FC set a league mark for a two-part transaction that values the club between $113 million and $120 million.
Angel City begins play in the NWSL-Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup on Saturday against Club America at Cal State Fullerton’s Titan Stadium.
