PGA Tour and LIV Golf make their merger terms clear as deal finally edges closer
Minimal progress has been made since the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund struck a framework agreement for a merger in June 2022, but talks have moved forward in recent days
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan have been at the forefront of merger talks
A merger deal between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF), which bankrolls LIV Golf, is edging closer after the parties “exchanged term sheets in recent days”.
The PGA Tour, DP World Tour and PIF announced a framework agreement had been reached almost a year ago, with hopes of bringing an end to the civil war created in professional golf by the LIV Golf breakaway in 2022.
The deal is set to bring a £1.18billion cash injection to the PGA Tour and should enable the best players in the world to compete against each other more often. But progress has been slow and numerous deadlines have passed since the framework agreement was made, leading to widespread pessimism that a deal would not be completed.
PGA Tour policy board members Jimmy Dunne and Mark Flaherty have both quit in recent weeks, with Dunne particularly frustrated by the balance of power on the board as player-directors Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth and Patrick Cantlay took the lead in negotiations.
Rory McIlroy – who resigned from the policy board in November before a failed attempt to rejoin earlier this month – admitted before the PGA Championship last week that his confidence of a deal being reached with PIF had never been lower.
“Honestly, I think it’s a huge loss for the PGA Tour if they are trying to get the deal done with PIF and unify the game. Jimmy was basically the relationship – the sort of conduit between the PGA Tour and PIF,” McIlroy said. “It’s been really unfortunate that he hasn’t been involved for the past few months and part of the reason I think everything is stalling at the minute is because of that. It’s really disappointing and I think the tour is in a worse place because of it.
“We’ll see where it goes from here, we’ll see what happens, but I would say my confidence level on getting something done before last week was as low as it had been, and with this news of Jimmy resigning and knowing the relationship he has with the other side and how much warmth there is from the other side, it’s concerning.”
But according to the New York Times, talks between the PGA Tour and PIF have edged forward, with both parties laying out their terms for an agreement in the form of term sheets. The PGA Tour would remain in majority control of PGA Tour enterprises, with PIF and Strategic Sports Group – a consortium of billionaires rooted in American sports that struck a £1.18b investment deal of its own with the tour earlier this year – holding minority stakes.
However, a deal remains uncertain, primarily due to questions over LIV Golf’s future. LIV has made a huge splash with big-name signings like Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau on massive contracts, but the league is yet to truly establish itself as a mainstream attraction, with underwhelming viewing figures.
But if LIV were to fall by the wayside in a merger deal, the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) would likely investigate the matter on antitrust grounds. The DoJ would also be sure to look into a merger over concerns of interlocking directorates, where directors hold board seats in multiple companies.