Disney CEO Bob Iger and his spouse, Willow Bay, have agreed to the new majority ownership of Angel City Football Club, the club announced Wednesday, giving the Los Angeles women’s soccer team the highest rating of any women’s professional sports team.
Iger and Bay, dean of the University of Southern California, will get a majority stake in the National Women’s Soccer League club and Bay will hold the entire board of directors of the team and act as majority owner of the team.
With its new majority owners, and its additional investment of $50 million for the club’s expansion, Angel City FC has a valuation of $250 million, according to the team.
The deal has been approved by the team’s board of directors, but is subject to standard final conditions such as league approval and is expected to close within the next 30 to 60 days.
Bay said she and Iger were “thrilled to join” the club, noting that the team “has already made a huge impact on the NWSL, women’s soccer and the Los Angeles community,” in a statement.
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Angel City FC is not new to having stars as leaders. The club was founded by actress Natalie Portman, venture capitalist Kara Nortman, and Julie Uhrma in 2020. Its owner organization also includes Billie Jean King, Illana Kloss, Candace Parker, thirteen former United States women’s national team players, and several other actors. Array activists, athletes, and more.
11. Despite the publicity success, this is the team’s rating this year in a 14-team league. Angel City has a 4-9-3 record.
Since its first season in 2022, Angel City FC has managed to grow its fan base and turn it into profits. The team sold more than 15,000 season tickets before even betting on a game, ESPN reported, although the league averaged fewer than 6,000 fans per game the previous year. The team also said in a statement that it generates the highest revenue of any women’s team in the world and is number one in league attendance, sponsorship revenue and overall revenue. Iger and Bay’s investment comes at a time when all eyes are on women’s sports more than ever. Earlier this year, another NWSL team sold for an estimated $113 million, breaking the previous league sales record of $63 million for the Portland Thorns last year.
If the club continues to be successful under the leadership of Iger and Bay. In January 2023, Angel City president Uhrman told The Athletic: “As far as I’m concerned, we will be the first women’s team to have a billion-dollar valuation in five years. . . There is no greater investment today day than women’s sports. At the time of the interview, Angel City had sold products in every state and 46 countries, had more than $40 million in sponsorships and had overall profits “somewhere in the eight figures. ” “.
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