Los Angeles FC, a Major League Soccer club, has acquired a minority stake in Angel City FC, a National Women’s Soccer League team. This acquisition is linked to warrants issued to LAFC when Angel City secured a lease to play at LAFC’s stadium, known as BMO Stadium, at the start of the 2022 season. LAFC exercised these warrants in the past two months.
In a statement, LAFC expressed its long-standing support for Angel City and its co-founders, highlighting the club’s remarkable progress in just three seasons. They are excited to join the ACFC ownership group as minority investors and are committed to supporting the team for years ahead.
Details regarding the financial terms of the deal were not disclosed by either LAFC or Angel City FC.
The transaction comes amid a transition in ownership for Angel City, which has recently seen new controlling owners acquire approximately 40% of the franchise. Willow Bay, dean of the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, and her husband, Bob Iger, made this investment, valuing the club at $250 million, with an additional $50 million dedicated to enhancing operations and personnel. Bay will serve as the primary governor of the team.
With a valuation of $250 million, Angel City is currently the most valuable franchise in the NWSL, while LAFC is valued at $1.15 billion, the highest in MLS.
The existence of the warrants was first reported by Sportico in 2022, and they were set to expire at the end of the four-year lease, which has yet to be extended. Angel City’s unique capitalization structure includes a variety of celebrity investors, and the team previously raised funds in a “Series A” round, a term typically associated with tech startups. Before the acquisition by Bay and Iger, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian was the lead investor.
On the field, Angel City is facing challenges as it tries to secure a playoff spot for the second consecutive season, sitting in 10th place after losing two games and tying one in its last three matches with five games remaining. Only the top eight teams qualify for the playoffs.
LAFC, which entered the MLS in 2018, is owned by Riot Games co-founder Brandon Beck along with executives from Apollo Global, Larry Berg and Bennett Rosenthal. The team is aiming to become the first to reach three consecutive MLS Cup finals since the New England Revolution in 2007. Recently, LAFC celebrated a 3-1 victory over Sporting KC in the U.S. Open Cup final, marking the tournament’s 109th edition, which began in March with 95 teams from across various levels of American soccer.