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The PGA Tour’s ongoing search for investment partners has reportedly winnowed to a small group of heavyweight candidates.
Just days after the PGA Tour turned down a potential investment from Endeavor and after more than a dozen initial suitors sought to strike a deal, Golfweek said the property is now focused on five groups:
Those suitors include:
• Fenway Sports Group, parent group of the Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Penguins, Liverpool FC, and most recently, a franchise in the new TGL indoor golf league.
• Acorn Growth Company, an Oklahoma-based private equity firm.
• Liberty Strategic Capital, a firm led by Steven Mnuchin, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury during the Trump Administration
• Eldridge Industries, led by Chelsea owner, Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner, and key Vivid Seats backer Todd Boehly
• The Friends of Golf Group, a collection of financial titans and Wall Street veterans with a shared love of golf.
Lofty Stature
All told, the group of possible partners represent some of the leading figures in U.S. finance. That list of potential investors has emerged as LIV Golf’s backer — Saudi Arabia Public Investment fund — is seeking to invest at least $1 billion in a new, for-profit company called PGA Tour Enterprises.
But the discussions with these other investors are ongoing as the partnership between the PGA Tour and the Saudi PIF is on rocky ground.
Golf journalist Alan Shipnuck, meanwhile, reported that FSG “put in a monster bid to usurp the PIF.”
The PGA Tour’s board of directors is due to meet on Nov. 12, and its possible further movement on an investment selection could arrive then.
Should the PGA Tour complete a deal with one of these entities, it would likely reignite the bitter rivalry with LIV Golf that shook the sport to its core.
