The takeaway: After putting its interests up for sale in March, Angel City FC is moving in to make more big-name acquisitions. As noted Wednesday, longtime Disney CEO Bob Iger and his wife, Willow Bay, dean of the University of Southern California’s journalism school, are reportedly buying a controlling interest in the NWSL club, which is currently valued at between $250 million and $300 million.
More details: Initial reports from Puck and Semafor suggest Iger and Bay will invest at least $50 million, an amount that would replace Alexis Ohanian as the team’s controlling shareholder. Notably, Ohanian was reluctant to sell his stake when the sale was first announced in March. It is unclear whether either Bay or Iger will replace Ohanian as ACFC’s head of the NWSL board of directors.
The buyer: Both Iger and Bay come from media backgrounds. Iger rose through the ranks at ABC before it was acquired by Disney, becoming CEO in 2005. Bay began her career as a model in the 1980s and later worked as a television anchor for NBC, ABC, CNN and MSNBC. In 2017, she was named dean of the Annenberg School of Journalism, the renowned journalism school at the University of Southern California.
Background: Ohanian has been trying to sell the team since last fall, in part because of the franchise’s spending habits, according to Front Office Sports. ACFC brought in $31 million in revenue last year, the highest in the league, but didn’t turn a profit. The team hired New York investment bank Moelis & Co. to handle the “sale.”
Looking at the bigger picture, Iger and Bay have both demonstrated a passion for the sport during their careers, so it made sense for them to invest in the fastest-growing NWSL team to date, with the highest ROI. ACFC is already tallying up $55 million in commercial revenue through 2025.
Private equity (PE) firms recently helped sell Seattle Reign FC and San Diego Wave FC, and when PE firms team up, many business leaders will take notice.
Source link
