Angel City FC is officially the world’s highest-valued women’s sports team after being sold to Disney CEO Bob Iger and his wife, Willow Bay, the club announced Wednesday. Iger and Bay are buying the team in a deal valuing Angel City at $250 million, more than double the NWSL record of the $120 million sale of the San Diego Wave in March.
The proposed sale to Iger and Bay was first reported last month.
Alexis Ohanian—a prominent women’s sports investor, Reddit cofounder, and husband of Serena Williams—was the club’s founding controlling owner, but he has made it clear he didn’t put himself in charge of the board.
Iger is the CEO of the Walt Disney Company, and Bay is the dean of USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. Bay will control the club’s board of directors and represent the club within the NWSL’s board of governors. Ohanian and the other founders will still serve on the club’s board of directors, the team said.
Controlling owners in the NWSL must purchase at least 35% of the club, meaning the duo paid at least $87.5 million for their stake in the team.
It’s unsurprising that the four-year-old Angel FC is the one to shatter this record. The club, with founders and ownership group members, including Natalie Portman, Billie Jean King, and Abby Wambach, has set the standard with some of the highest attendance in the league, six recognized fan groups, and an NWSL-most $31 million in revenue in 2023. The club also claims to have the league’s largest season-ticket membership.
Ohanian was reportedly frustrated with how club leadership handled its finances, and a Wall Street Journal story recently detailed “infighting and power struggles” on the team’s board. The board hired the investment bank Moelis & Company to find new owners this spring.
The club announced it expects the deal to close within the next 30–60 days.
