Billionaire Marc Lasry is no longer pursuing an acquisition of the NWSL's North Carolina Courage, his fund said Friday in a statement that cited the league's rules around private equity ownership.
Lasry had previously offered to buy the team from Steve Malik at a roughly $108 million valuation. The offer was to buy a 60% control stake, Sportico reported in September, and it included a signed letter of intent, a non-binding document that outlined the basic deal points.
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The two sides and the league, however, couldn't agree on a deal structure that worked for everyone. They explored Lasry's Avenue Sports fund buying the control stake–which is allowed in NWSL but no other major U.S. league–and the possibility of Lasry buying it personally.
"We will not be moving forward with our planned investment in the Courage because of NWSL restrictions for private equity investment as a control owner in teams," Avenue said in a statement. "Commissioner [Jessica] Berman, the NWSL, and the Courage ownership including Steve Malik have been fantastic partners and we will continue to seek opportunities to invest in the teams and players across this incredible league."
A representative for the NWSL declined to comment. A representative for the Courage didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Two months ago, Lasry was accused of sexual harassment by a former employee that he had sued for extortion. He has denied the allegations.
The NWSL has taken a different approach to private equity than the other leagues. While funds can own minority stakes in multiple teams, they can also control teams. That's the structure for Bay FC, for example, which is owned by private equity giant Sixth Street.
When that deal was completed, Berman joined the Sporticast podcast to outline the guardrails that were put in place to make that transaction happen. They involve longer time horizons and a tighter link between the fund's money and a single decision maker.
The Courage were founded in 2017 after Malik acquired the Western New York Flash and moved the club to North Carolina. Minority owners include Naomi Osaka. The team raised $15 million last year at a $66 million valuation, and are currently worth $91 million , according to Sportico 's numbers. It is only NWSL franchise that hasn't sold, or joined the league, in the past five years.
Lasry, who used to own a piece of the Milwaukee Bucks, is worth $1.9 billion, per Forbes. His fund's portfolio includes teams in TGL, SailGP and PBR.
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