Los Angeles power couple Willow Bay and Bob Iger have reached an agreement to purchase a control stake of NWSL club Angel City FC in a deal that values the team at $250 million.
Bay, who is dean of the USC journalism school, and Iger, who is CEO of Disney, are buying equity held by a number of Angel City minority owners. Bay will become the team’s primary governor and have control of the board, according to a statement issued Wednesday morning. The couple have also committed to contributing an additional $50 million in operational capital to support the team.
The agreement still needs approval from the NWSL. Should it close, it would be by far the largest valuation ever assigned to a women’s sports team in a control sale. Sportico recently valued Angel City, which earns more in revenue than any other NWSL club, at $180 million. The San Diego Wave recently sold for a league-record $113 million.
It’s unclear how much equity Bay and Iger are buying and from whom. The team’s largest current investor is Alexis Ohanian, but the board is presently controlled by the club’s three “co-founders:” Julie Uhrman, Kara Nortman and Natalie Portman. That atypical structure led to tension over team operations and finances, and earlier this year the board hired Moelis & Co. to explore a control sale. Ohanian has said several times that he would not be selling his shares, which are held in multiple places.
Portman, Uhrman, Ohanian and early investor Gillian Berry will continue to serve on the board, according to the statement. Bay will serve as the fifth and final member, but will have “full control,” the team said. The board composition could also change in the future. Prior board members not listed as part of the new board include Nortman, and founding investors David Nathanson and Brian Weinstein.
Bay is the first female dean of the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, overseeing more than 200 faculty and staff and more than 2,500 students. Prior to working at USC, she was an award-winning TV journalist and editor, including stints at Good Morning America, the Today Show, CNN’s Moneyline, and NBC’s NBA Inside Stuff.
Iger was CEO and chairman of Disney from 2005 to 2020, helping lead acquisitions of Pixar (2006), Marvel (2009), Lucasfilm (2012) and 21st Century Fox (2019), plus the expansion of its theme park business and the launch of streaming service Disney+. He returned to the CEO role in 2022. (Disney’s ESPN is one of the NWSL’s main media partners.)
Angel City was awarded a team in 2020 and joined the NWSL in 2022. Investors include pop stars Christina Aguilera and Becky G; actresses Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Garner and Eva Longoria; tennis icon and activist Billie Jean King; WNBA star Candace Parker; former NHL player P.K. Subban; skier Lindsey Vonn; and former USWNT stars Mia Hamm, Shannon Boxx and Julie Foudy.
The club has pushed league boundaries in many ways, some more welcome than others, but it has set a commercial standard for the NWSL. Angel City had $31 million in revenue in 2023, according to Sportico’s numbers, while the next closest team, San Diego, earned $16.3 million. Only two others made more than $10 million.
The purchase by Bay and Iger is expected to close in the next 30-60 days, according to the release. Allen & Co. served as financial advisors to the buyers, and Milbank served as the group’s legal advisor. Sidley Austin served as legal advisor to Angel City.
(This story has been updated in the sixth paragraph to clarify the structure of Angel City’s board.)