Former Bucks owner nearing Courage purchase at $108M valuation

Former Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry is close to completing a deal to acquire a controlling interest in the North Carolina Courage of the National Women's Soccer League, Sportico reported Thursday.

Lasry, 64, is offering to buy 60 percent of the franchise at a valuation of $108 million from current owner Steve Malik, per the report. Lasry has signed a non-binding letter of intent.

Sportico valued the franchise at $52 million last year, and the new valuation shows the skyrocketing rise in franchise costs.

Willow Bay and husband Bob Iger recently purchased the controlling share of Angel City FC at a $250 million valuation. The expansion fee before the club entered the league in 2022 was $2 million.

The Courage were born in 2017 when Malik bought the Western New York Flash and relocated them to the Raleigh area. The team won NWSL titles in 2018 and 2019.

Lasry sold his 25 percent share of the Bucks last year and started Avenue Sports Opportunities Fund. Its first transaction was buying the San Francisco franchise in TGL, the simulator golf league started by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, Sportico reported.

Lasry and his sister co-founded a private equity firm, Avenue Capital Management, in 1995 with $7 million seed money. The fund now manages about $13 billion in assets, according to Forbes, which put Lasry's net worth at $1.9 billion.

--Field Level Media