Disney CEO Bob Iger And Wife Willow Bay Reportedly Taking Control Of Angel City FC; Team’s $300M Value Would Set Women’s Sports Record

Bob Iger and his wife, Willow Bay, are closing in on an investment in Angel City FC in a deal that would make the pro soccer team the most valuable franchise in women’s professional sports.

The proposed transaction for the Bay Iger Co. is separate from the couple’s day jobs – Iger running the Walt Disney Co. as CEO and Bay serving as dean of the USC Annenberg School. Multiple media reports indicate the new money would total around $50 million on top of the team’s current valuation of $250 million.

Puck News and Semafor had the first reports on the Iger-Bay investment.

If the investment closes, Iger and Bay would take control of the team from Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, who is also the husband of Serena Williams, according to media reports. Angel City has attracted a number of notables from show business, finance and sports circles. Natalie Portman is one of its three co-founding partners and smaller investors have included Williams, Billie Jean King, Jennifer Garner, Eva Longoria and former U.S. national team standouts Mia Hamm, Shannon Boxx and Julie Foudy.

Angel City FC plays its NWSL home games at BMO Stadium, in the USC campus area south of downtown LA. The venue is also the home field for Major League Soccer’s LAFC.

The team has gained traction quickly since its first season in 2022, tracking the broader boom lately for women’s sports. President Julie Uhrman told The Athletic in 2023 the vision of the team’s backers envisioned a rapid growth path. “As far as I’m concerned, we’re going to be the first women’s team to have a billion-dollar valuation in five years,” she said. “There’s no better investment today than women’s sports.”

The NWSL has rebounded from a crisis that nearly torpedoed its mission in 2021. Half of the coaches in the league as well as the former commissioner were removed after an investigation revealed a multitude of instances of sexual harassment, misconduct and abuse across the league.

Iger and Bay did not initially respond to Deadline’s requests for comment via Disney and USC channels.