Sidley represented Angel City FC (ACFC), the Los Angeles-based National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) club, in its landmark, record-setting transaction with Willow Bay, dean of the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, and Bob Iger, CEO of the Walt Disney Company, in connection with the transaction, the completion of which was announced today. Bay and Iger acquired a controlling stake in ACFC at an enterprise value of US$250 million, making it the most valuable women’s sports team in the world. Bay will serve on and have full control of the ACFC Board of Directors, will serve as the controlling owner for NWSL purposes, and will represent ACFC on the NWSL’s Board of Governors. The transaction, which was unanimously approved by the NWSL’s Board of Governors, includes an additional US$50 million capital injection to support the club’s operations and growth goals, marking a historic development for the business of women’s sports and the beginning of a new era for ACFC.
Bay said, “We are incredibly excited to join ACFC as owners at this historic juncture for the team and for women’s sports locally and globally. As fans since the club’s founding season, we have long admired ACFC’s impact as a sports franchise and a force for social good, particularly here in our Los Angeles community. We are excited to build on ACFC’s momentum and help the club advance its goals on and off the pitch. I look forward to working closely with the team, NWSL’s Board of Governors, the incredible players, and the passionate supporters to drive innovation, foster growth, and uphold the club’s commitment to equity and impact.”
ACFC was founded in 2020 by actor and activist Natalie Portman, venture capitalist Kara Nortman, and entrepreneur Julie Uhrman. Reddit and 776 founder Alexis Ohanian was the club’s founding controlling owner. Together with founding investors David Nathanson and Brian Weinstein, who served as independent board members and played an active and critical role in the growth of the club, and early investor Gillian Berry, this group constituted ACFC’s founding board of directors. Chris Frank, who has served as a board observer, and Sidley Entertainment, Sports and Media (ESM) partner Eric Geffner have been trusted advisors to this group since inception. Following the closing of the transaction, ACFC’s Board of Directors will continue to include Natalie Portman, Julie Uhrman, Alexis Ohanian, and Gillian Berry. In just under four years, ACFC has achieved the highest sponsorship revenue, attendance, ticketing revenue, community impact, and brand recognition of any club in the National Women’s Soccer League, LLC (NWSL), and this investment further solidifies its unrivaled trajectory. The team features prominent players such as Christen Press, Sydney Leroux, and Alyssa Thompson. The ACFC ownership group also includes notable figures like Eva Longoria, Jennifer Garner, U.S. women’s national team legends Mia Hamm, Abby Wambach, and Julie Foudy, as well as Glennon Doyle, Billie Jean King, Candace Parker, Becky G, and over 100 other distinguished athletes, entertainers, and philanthropists.
The Sidley team was led by ESM partner Eric Geffner and managing associate Luisa Lizoain (ESM/M&A/Private Equity), along with senior managing associate Nick DeAngelis (M&A), managing associate Jake Funk (M&A/Private Equity), and associate Francesca Sadler (Restructuring/M&A). The team also included partner and ESM co-chair Charles (Chuck) Baker, partner Rachel Kleinberg (Tax), senior managing associate Jonathan Westreich (Tax), partner Jim Ducayet (Securities and Shareholder Litigation), partner Kate Roberts (Labor, Employment and Immigration), counsel Aimee Mackay (Labor, Employment and Immigration), and counsel Sheri Porath Rockwell (Privacy and Cybersecurity).
Eric Geffner and Luisa Lizoain, together with Chuck Baker, have served as lead counsel to ACFC since the club’s inception in 2020 and, among other commercial matters, previously helped the founders secure the original expansion rights to launch the NWSL’s 11th team in Los Angeles in 2022. In addition to the deal team, others who have been involved in Sidley’s general representation of ACFC include partners Russell (Rusty) Weiss (ESM/Technology and Life Sciences Transactions), Jodi Lopez (Commercial Litigation and Disputes), Eric Schwartz (Commercial Litigation and Disputes), Evie Whiting (ESM/Global Finance), and Keith Hayden Del Prete (Real Estate), senior managing associate Samuel Deddeh (Real Estate), managing associates Dylan Sherwyn (ESM/M&A/Private Equity) and Tatiana Fields (Commercial Litigation and Disputes), and associates Greg Fritzius (ESM/M&A/Private Equity) and Antoinette Petkov (M&A/Private Equity).
