Top Golf Organizer PGA Tour Receives $3 Billion Investment from Group of Private Equity Investors Strategic Sports Group Including Fenway Sports Group Which Owns Boston Red Sox & Liverpool Football Club, $3 Billion Investment into New PGA Tour Enterprises with Initial Investment of $1.5 Billion for $12 Billion Valuation, Around 200 Golf Players Will Receive Equity in PGA Tour Enterprises
12th February 2024 | Hong Kong
Top golf organizer PGA Tour will receive $3 billion investment from a group of private equity investors Strategic Sports Group (including Fenway Sports Group which owns Boston Red Sox & Liverpool Football Club), with $3 billion investment into a newly setup PGA Tour Enterprises with an initial investment of $1.5 billion for $12 billion valuation. Around 200 golf players will receive equity in PGA Tour Enterprises. Strategic Sports Group (SSG): “SSG includes individuals with over 200 years of combined sports team stewardship across several major global sports leagues, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and EPL. Fenway Sports Group has led the SSG investment with support from the leadership of Cohen Private Ventures, including Steven A. Cohen and Andrew B. Cohen, and Arthur M. Blank, owner and chairman of AMB Sports and Entertainment. FSG will also serve as commercial advisor to this new enterprise.” In June 2023, top golf organizers PGA Tour and LIV Golf have agreed to merge and to end all pending lawsuits (7/6/23). LIV Golf is backed by Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF) with $620 billion AUM (Assets under Management), which will also made additional capital investments in the deal. The deal will combine both PGA Tour and LIV Golf commercial businesses and rights to a new entity.
“ Top Golf Organizer PGA Tour Receives $3 Billion Investment from Group of Private Equity Investors Strategic Sports Group Including Fenway Sports Group Which Owns Boston Red Sox & Liverpool Football Club, $3 Billion Investment into New PGA Tour Enterprises with Initial Investment of $1.5 Billion for $12 Billion Valuation, Around 200 Golf Players Will Receive Equity in PGA Tour Enterprises “
The Strategic Sports Group includes the following members:
- Fenway Sports Group (Boston Red Sox, Liverpool F.C., Pittsburgh Penguins, RFK Racing, Boston Common Golf), along with several FSG Partners*
- John W. Henry, Principal, Fenway Sports Group
- ● Steven A. Cohen, Owner, Chairman & CEO, New York Mets; Chairman & CEO, Point72; Owner, TGL New York
- ● Arthur M. Blank, Co-Founder, Home Depot; Owner and Chairman, AMB Sports and Entertainment (Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta United, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta Drive GC, PGA TOUR Superstore)
- Tom Werner, Chairman, Fenway Sports Group
- Mike Gordon, President, Fenway Sports Group
- Sam Kennedy, CEO & President, Boston Red Sox; Partner, Fenway Sports Group
- Andrew B. Cohen, Chief Investment Officer and Co-Founder of Cohen Private Ventures; Vice Chairman, New York Mets
- Mark Attanasio, Principal, Milwaukee Brewers and Norwich City; Founder & Managing Partner, Crescent Capital Group
- Wyc Grousbeck, Co-Founder, Causeway Media Partners; Lead Owner, Boston Celtics
- Avenue Sports Fund, led by Avenue Capital Group CEO Marc Lasry, Owner, TGL San Francisco; Former Principal, Milwaukee Bucks
- Linda Henry, Co-Owner & CEO, Boston Globe Media; Investor, WNBA and League One Volleyball; Partner, Fenway Sports Group
- Alec Scheiner, Co-Founder and Partner, Otro Capital
- *Additional Fenway Sports Group investors: Main Street Advisors including LeBron James, Maverick Carter and Paul Wachter; Herb Wagner; Henry McCance; William Alfond; Michael Egan; Tom DiBenedetto; Michael Pucker; Richard Warke; Mitchell Jacobson; Frank Resnek; Laura Trust; and Teddy Werner.
Top Golf Organizers PGA Tour & LIV Golf Agree to Merge & End All Pending Lawsuits, LIV Golf is Backed by $620 Billion Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund & Will Make Capital Investments into the New Entity
17th June 2023 – Top golf organizers PGA Tour and LIV Golf have agreed to merge and to end all pending lawsuits (7/6/23). LIV Golf is backed by Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF) with $620 billion AUM (Assets under Management), which will also made additional capital investments in the deal. The deal will combine both PGA Tour and LIV Golf commercial businesses and rights to a new entity. The agreement includes DP World Tour (PGA European Tour). Since LIV Golf was launched in 2021 and led by Greg Norman, leading PGA Tour players including Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson had joined LIV Golf. PGA Tour. PGA Tour started banning LIV Golf players, and LIV Golf began to file lawsuits against PGA Tour. LIV is the number 54 in Roman. On a par-72 course, a score of 54 is achieved if a birdie is recorded on every hole (18 holes).
Top Golf Organizers PGA Tour & LIV Golf Agree to Merge & End All Pending Lawsuits, LIV Golf is Backed by $620 Billion Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund & Will Make Capital Investments into the New Entity
- PGA TOUR, DP World Tour and PIF announce newly formed commercial entity to unify golf
- Agreement establishes common goal to promote and grow the game globally for the benefit of all stakeholders, ends litigation
7th June 2023 – The PGA TOUR, DP World Tour and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) today announced a landmark agreement to unify the game of golf, on a global basis. The parties have signed an agreement that combines PIF’s golf-related commercial businesses and rights (including LIV Golf) with the commercial businesses and rights of the PGA TOUR and DP World Tour into a new, collectively owned, for-profit entity to ensure that all stakeholders benefit from a model that delivers maximum excitement and competition among the game’s best players.
In addition, PIF will make a capital investment into the new entity to facilitate its growth and success. The new entity (name TBD) will implement a plan to grow these combined commercial businesses, drive greater fan engagement and accelerate growth initiatives already underway. With LIV Golf in the midst of its second, groundbreaking season, the PGA TOUR, DP World Tour and PIF will work together to best feature and grow team golf going forward.
Notably, today’s announcement will be followed by a mutually agreed end to all pending litigation between the participating parties. Further, the three organizations will work cooperatively and in good faith to establish a fair and objective process for any players who desire to re-apply for membership with the PGA TOUR or the DP World Tour following the completion of the 2023 season and for determining fair criteria and terms of re-admission, consistent with each Tour’s policies.
“After two years of disruption and distraction, this is a historic day for the game we all know and love,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan. “This transformational partnership recognizes the immeasurable strength of the PGA TOUR’s history, legacy and pro-competitive model and combines with it the DP World Tour and LIV – including the team golf concept – to create an organization that will benefit golf’s players, commercial and charitable partners and fans. Going forward, fans can be confident that we will, collectively, deliver on the promise we’ve always made – to promote competition of the best in professional golf and that we are committed to securing and driving the game’s future.
“We are pleased to move forward, in step with LIV and PIF’s world-class investing experience, and I applaud PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan for his vision and collaborative and forward-thinking approach that is not just a solution to the rift in our game, but also a commitment to taking it to new heights. This will engender a new era in global golf, for the better.”
“Today is a very exciting day for this special game and the people it touches around the world,” said PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan. “We are proud to partner with the PGA TOUR to leverage PIF’s unparalleled success and track record of unlocking value and bringing innovation and global best practices to business and sectors worldwide. We are committed to unifying, promoting and growing the game of golf around the world and offering the highest-quality product to the many millions of long-time fans globally, while cultivating new fans.
“There is no question that the LIV model has been positively transformative for golf. We believe there are opportunities for the game to evolve while also maintaining its storied history and tradition. This partnership represents the best opportunity to extend and increase the impact of golf for all. We look forward to collaborating with Jay and Keith to bring the best version of the game to communities around the world.”
Under the terms of the agreement, the Board of Directors of the new entity will oversee and direct all the new entity’s golf-related commercial operations, businesses and investments. The new entity will work to ensure a cohesive schedule of events that will be exciting for fans, sponsors and all stakeholders. PIF will initially be the exclusive investor in the new entity, alongside the PGA TOUR, LIV Golf and the DP World Tour. Going forward, PIF will have the exclusive right to further invest in the new entity, including a right of first refusal on any capital that may be invested in the new entity, including into the PGA TOUR, LIV Golf and DP World Tour. The PGA TOUR will appoint a majority of the Board and hold a majority voting interest in the combined entity.
Separately, PGA TOUR Inc. will remain in place as a 501(c)(6) tax exempt organization and retains administrative oversight of events for those assets contributed by the PGA TOUR, including the sanctioning of events, the administration of the competition and rules, as well as all other “inside the ropes” responsibilities, with Jay Monahan as Commissioner and Ed Herlihy as PGA TOUR Policy Board Chairman. PIF’s Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan will join the PGA TOUR Policy Board. The DP World Tour and LIV Golf will retain similar administrative oversight of events on their respective Tours.
The Board of Directors of the new commercial entity will include Al-Rumayyan as Chairman and Monahan as Chief Executive Officer; the new entity’s Board will also include an Executive Committee comprising Al-Rumayyan, Monahan, Herlihy and PGA TOUR Policy Board member Jimmy Dunne. The full Board will be announced at a later date, and it is anticipated that all three founding members will have representation.
Keith Pelley, Chief Executive of the DP World Tour, said “This is a momentous day. We are delighted to be able to not only reignite our relationship with PIF, but also to have the opportunity to build on our current Strategic Alliance partnership with the PGA TOUR. Together we will be stronger than ever and well positioned to continue to bring the game to all corners of the globe. To partner in this new entity and influence the growth of the game for all our DP World Tour members is energizing and exciting.”
All parties will work in the months to come to finalize terms of the agreement, with details to be announced in due course.
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