Disney CEO Bob Iger and USC Annenberg Dean Willow Bay have accomplished the acquisition of a controlling stake in Angel City Football Club, the workforce introduced Thursday.
The workforce mentioned the deal will increase the membership’s worth to $250 million, making it essentially the most beneficial franchise in ladies’s skilled sports activities historical past. The deal consists of an extra $50 million in fairness to assist the membership’s operations and development objectives.
“We are extremely excited to affix ACFC as house owners at this historic second for the workforce and for ladies’s sports activities domestically and globally,” Bay mentioned in an announcement. “As followers for the reason that membership’s founding season, we’ve got lengthy admired ACFC’s impression as a sports activities franchise and a pressure for social good, notably right here in our Los Angeles group.
“We are excited to construct on ACFC’s momentum and assist the membership obtain its objectives on and off the sector. I sit up for working intently with the workforce, the NWSL Board of Directors, the unimaginable gamers and passionate supporters to drive innovation, foster development and assist the membership’s dedication to fairness and impression.”
The transaction was unanimously authorised by the NWSL Board of Directors. With the approval, Iger and Bay will be part of the most important majority-female possession group in skilled sports activities, led by actress Natalie Portman, enterprise capitalist Kara Nortman and media entrepreneur Julie Uhrman and together with Hollywood heavyweights Eva Longoria, Jennifer Garner and America Ferrera.
The workforce, in its third season within the NWSL, made its solely playoff look final 12 months. The workforce is 6-9-3 this season, good for ninth within the 14-team league standings, one spot out of a playoff spot.
