The owners of the New York Liberty sold a limited partnership stake in the club at a $450 million valuation, according to someone familiar with details of the transaction. It is the richest valuation ever for a women’s sports team and more than 30 times what Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai paid for the team in 2019. The equity raise is expected to be for between 10% and 20% of the club.
A representative for the Liberty declined to comment on the deal. The Athletic first reported the news.
The WNBA has undergone explosive growth with attendance, TV viewership and revenue. The valuation gains have outstripped all of those metrics.
The Tsais bought the Liberty from Jim Dolan for between $10 million and $14 million. Two years later, Mark Davis paid just $2 million for the Las Vegas Aces. The Atlanta Dream were purchased the same year for just under $10 million by a group led by real estate investor Larry Gottesdiener.
By 2023, the WNBA get-in price was $50 million, which the Golden State Valkyries paid as an expansion fee, the WNBA’s first expansion team since 2008. The Toronto Tempo paid the same fee the following year, while the Portland franchise awarded to Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal cost $60 million, with startup costs and a new practice facility pushing the total price tag to $125 million.
The latest round of expansion led by Allen & Company is expected to fetch fees of more than $200 million before accounting for startup costs. Allen was also hired to explore the sale of the Connecticut Sun.
The Liberty ranked third in Sportico’s June 2024 WNBA team valuations at $130 million, $10 million behind the top-ranked Aces. Since then, the WNBA signed a new TV contract worth 6x its previous average annual value, and interest in expansion pushed values ever higher.
In October, the Liberty won their first WNBA title over the Aces, and the club recently announced plans for an $80 million practice facility to open in 2027.
Last year, the Tsais sold 15% of BSE Global to billionaire Julia Koch and her family at a $6 billion valuation. BSE includes the Liberty, NBA’s Brooklyn Nets and rights to operate their home arena, Barclays Center. The Liberty were valued at roughly $250 million in that transaction.
