Angel City FC reportedly exploring sale of controlling stake in club

The GIST: The NWSL is selling like hot cakes — within the last week, two of its highest-valued franchises have put up the ‘for sale’ sign. A day after the San Diego Wave announced its impending $120M sale, Sportico reported that Angel City hopes to sell a controlling stake amid ownership friction.

The details: The LA–based club has reportedly hired global investment bank Moelis & Company to ascertain interest in a controlling stake after alleged tension between board members over team governance. While the availability of team equity remains unclear, the team’s largest shareholder, Alexis Ohanian (aka Serena Williams’ husband), doesn’t intend to sell his portion.

• Moelis & Company has already discussed the sale with interested parties, including the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks’ former co-owner Marc Lasry, who is looking to diversify Avenue Capital’s new sports fund.

The setup: Angel City’s unique and decentralized power structure complicates operations — Ohanian is the largest shareholder but doesn’t have a majority of equity or control the board. Instead, he shares power with co-founding partners Kara Nortman, Natalie Portman, and Julie Uhrman.

The context: The club generates the most revenue in the league by far ($31M in 2023), but it also spends the most and isn’t profitable. If the sale goes through, Angel City is expected to fetch at least its $180M valuation, but the price could be even higher considering the Wave’s $120M sale last week after a $90M valuation in October.

Zooming out: The NWSL is scaling up rapidly, and while Angel City’s unusual ownership structure may have been necessary to drive hype from the outset, it may make it more difficult to coordinate key decisions as the club’s value and brand skyrockets.

• Private equity (PE) firms own Bay FC and now the Wave, and it’s likely they’ll continue to scoop up NWSL properties, hence the league’s recent rules for PE ownership. As NWSL growth outpaces its grassroots beginnings, seasoned sports owners will want to take advantage of the hype. Level up.