The merger between the PGA Tour and PIF, the Saudi investors in LIV Golf, is “falling apart” as a result of a rival, massive bid from a private equity firm based in New York; it is “increasingly likely” that golf’s civil war will resume.
A report claims that the framework agreement between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour is disintegrating.
When the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia made an unexpected U-turn in June and agreed to an investment, it appeared as though golf’s two rival groups had declared a truce.
Under the terms of the agreement, the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and Europe’s DP World Tour would all effectively operate under one new, for-profit organization called “PGA Tour Enterprises,” in which the PIF would hold a minority stake.
But as the agreement between the PIF and the PGA Tour approaches collapse, it seems the sport’s civil war may erupt once more, according to Alan Shipnuck.
Shipnuck, whose most recent book, “LIV and Let Die,” describes the aftermath of last month’s dramatic golf match between the Saudi breakaway and the PGA Tour, asserted that a bid from New York-based private equity firm Fenway Partners could replace the PIF’s
According to Shipnuck, the Tour is reportedly dedicated to a new business model, though not necessarily with PIF. The framework agreement, he continued, was not “binding,” but rather aspirational.
He asserted that the press release about the merger “should have said ‘Lawsuits dropped, we’ll figure out the rest later,'” implying that the two sides had declared the truce before fully working out the logistics.
The merger talks must be completed before the deadline of December 31.
June’s merger ended the on-going litigation battles between the two fractions.
While the PGA was accused of violating antitrust laws by banning LIV players from its Tour, golf’s preeminent circuit countersued its Saudi-backed rivals, accusing the outfit of interfering with its deals.
The merger had represented a major victory for LIV Golf, which has been shunned by many of the sport’s icons, including Tour legends Jack Nicklaus, Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods, who reportedly turned down a $1billion deal to defect in 2022.
But there were also questions surrounding the breakaway’s future, with some speculating that LIV’s value as a gateway to the sport would vanish once PIF established itself on the PGA Tour.
Shipnuck also stated that PIF’s governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan would go back to the rebel circuit as his plaything if he didn’t have the PGA Tour in his pocket, which made the collapse of the framework agreement seem like a win for LIV.
Leave a Reply