Deal to purchase majority stake in N.C. Courage falls apart

The big picture: Interest in women's sports has skyrocketed in recent years, and investment has flooded into women's soccer specifically.

• The Courage are the only NWSL team that hasn't brought in a new majority owner in the past four years

Driving the news: The Courage and Lasry's investment firm Avenue Capital Group confirmed they were no longer pursuing a deal this week. Sportico was the first to report the deal's collapse.

• Avenue Capital said that the NWSL's restrictions around private equity funds being the controlling owner of a team were a reason it stopped pursuing the deal.

What they're saying: "[NWSL 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 spokesperson for Avenue Capital said in a statement.

• The N.C. Courage confirmed in a statement that it was no longer pursuing an investment deal with Avenue, but said "Lasry and his team have been great throughout this process."
• "It was clear from the beginning they believed in our vision and were interested in helping us build upon our unmatched on-field success, brand strength, and mission of community impact," the team added.

Context: The Courage was established in January 2017, after Malik acquired the Western New York Flash and moved the team to North Carolina.

Zoom in: Earlier this the N.C. Courage had already brought in new investors in a $15 million funding round.

• That deal included investments from backers like WRAL and Durham Bulls' owner Capitol Broadcasting, tennis star Naomi Osaka and Raleigh developer John Kane.
• Malik told the Triangle Business Journal that the team continues to hear from interested investors and that they still require more capital to keep up with the growth of the NWSL.