The PGA Tour has agreed to merge with Saudi-backed rival LIV Golf in a deal that will see the competitors squash pending litigation and move forward as a bigger golf enterprise.
The 2 entities signed an agreement that will mix the PGA Tour’s and LIV Golf’s business businesses and rights right into a recent, yet-to-be-named for-profit company. The agreement includes DP World Tour, also often known as the PGA European Tour.
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LIV Golf is backed by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund, an entity controlled by the Saudi crown prince and has been embroiled in antitrust lawsuits with the PGA Tour within the last 12 months. The deal announced Tuesday would end all pending litigation.
PIF is ready to invest billions of recent capital into the brand new entity, CNBC’s David Faber reported Tuesday. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
The agreement — the second stunning sports deal in only months, following World Wrestling Entertainment’s merger with Endeavor Group‘s UFC — would require the approval of the PGA Tour policy board, Commissioner Jay Monahan said in a memo to players that was obtained by CNBC.
“There may be much work to do to get us from a framework agreement to a definitive agreement, but one thing is clear: through this transformational agreement and with PIF’s collaborative investment, the immeasurable strength of the PGA Tour’s history, legacy and pro-competitive model not only stays intact, but is supercharged for the long run,” he wrote within the memo.
PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan said Tuesday on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” that after the merger is finalized, which he expects to be “in a matter of weeks,” the brand new board is ready to evaluate every proposal that’s presented. Al-Rumayyan is slated to function chairman of the board.
“Whatever it takes that is … what we’re committed for,” Al-Rumayyan told Faber.
LIV didn’t see its matches distributed on TV within the U.S. until a number of months ago, when the league signed a deal with the CW Network because the exclusive U.S. broadcast partner. The CW had agreed to air 14 global events, which began in February. Terms of the multiyear deal had not been disclosed.
Nexstar Media Group owns 75% of the CW Network. A representative for the corporate said in a press release Tuesday there can be no change to the LIV Golf event schedule for 2023.
“That is exciting day to unify and grow the sport of golf,” Nexstar said within the statement. “We glance forward to broadcasting seven more exciting tournaments this 12 months featuring the world’s best golfers.”
Monahan said the tour checked out the sport of golf “on a worldwide basis,” as its seen more growth in the game outside of the U.S.
Still, he acknowledged Tuesday on CNBC that there was numerous tensions between the 2 organizations, but said “the sport of golf is best for what we have done today.”
The 2 organizations had filed a series of antitrust claims against the opposite in recent months. LIV Golf sued The PGA Tour alleging anti-competitive practices for banning its players. The tour countersued, claiming LIV was stifling competition. Disputes ensued regarding the invention process for evidence.
The lawsuits were spurred because the upstart league had lured multiple high-profile players, similar to Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson, from the PGA Tour after the tour had banned the players from competing in LIV’s events.
On Tuesday, Mickelson tweeted, “Awesome day today” as a part of a post sharing the news of the merger.
The deal comes soon after LIV golfer Brooks Koepka won the PGA Championship, considered one of 4 major titles in men’s golf.
As a part of the agreement, the groups will establish “a good and objective process for any players who want to re-apply for membership with the PGA Tour or DP World Tour” following the tip of the 2023 season, according to a release.
LIV Golf, which launched in 2022 and has been spending top dollar to lure golfers, has also been the topic of controversy, criticism and political intrigue within the U.S. PIF has reportedly invested $2 billion into LIV already, and had aspirations of making franchises and teams that would someday be sold.
Critics of LIV have also accused PIF of “sportswashing” by utilizing the league to distract from the dominion’s history of human rights violations.
Members of the family of those that perished within the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have protested the league, including outside of events. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers on Sept. 11 were from Saudi Arabia, and Osama Bin Laden, the mastermind behind the attacks, was born within the country. It has been concluded by U.S. officials that Saudi nationals helped fund the terrorist group al-Qaeda, although investigations didn’t find that the Saudi officials were complicit within the attacks.
The group 9/11 Families United said they were “shocked and deeply offended” by the merger in a statement on Tuesday.
“Mr. Monahan talked last summer about knowing individuals who lost family members on 9/11, then wondered aloud on national television whether LIV Golfers ever had to apologize for being a member of the PGA Tour. They do now – as does he,” said 9/11 Families United Chair Terry Strada, whose husband Tom died within the World Trade Center’s North Tower. “PGA Tour leaders needs to be ashamed of their hypocrisy and greed. Our entire 9/11 community has been betrayed by Commissioner Monahan and the PGA because it appears their concern for our family members was merely window-dressing of their quest for money – it was never to honor the good game of golf.”
The statement referred to when Monahan said during an interview with CBS Sports that he had discussed these controversies with tour players.
“I feel you’d have to be living under a rock not to know there are significant implications,” Monahan said in the course of the interview. “I might ask any player who has left or any player who would consider leaving, ‘Have you ever ever had to apologize for being a member of the PGA tour?'”
Former President Donald Trump, who has hosted quite a few LIV Golf events at his golf courses, has defended those events, falsely claiming that “no one’s gotten to the underside of 9/11.” Last 12 months, Trump also said on Truth Social that a merger between LIV and The PGA Tour was inevitable.
On Tuesday, Trump weighed in on the merger on his Truth Social platform: “Great news from LIV Golf. A giant, beautiful, and glamorous deal for the wonderful world of golf. Congrats to all!!!”
– CNBC’s David Faber and Jessica Golden contributed to this text.
CNBC on July 25 is holding Game Plan, an invite-only event in Los Angeles, with speakers including the NBA’s Kevin Durant and ESPN Chairman James Pitaro, which is able to focus on discussions regarding emerging opportunities across the sports landscape.
Read the total news release announcing the PGA Tour-LIV deal:
PGA TOUR, DP World Tour and PIF announce newly formed business entity to unify golf
PGA TOUR, DP World Tour, LIV Golf merge business operations under common ownership
Agreement establishes common goal to promote and grow the sport globally for the advantage of all stakeholders, ends litigation
NEW YORK; RIYADH; PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida, June 6, 2023 – The PGA TOUR, DP World Tour and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) today announced a landmark agreement to unify the sport of golf, on a worldwide basis. The parties have signed an agreement that mixes PIF’s golf-related business businesses and rights (including LIV Golf) with the business businesses and rights of the PGA TOUR and DP World Tour right into a recent, collectively owned, for-profit entity to be certain that all stakeholders profit from a model that delivers maximum excitement and competition among the many game’s best players.
As well as, PIF will make a capital investment into the brand new entity to facilitate its growth and success. The brand new entity (name TBD) will implement a plan to grow these combined business businesses, drive greater fan engagement and speed up growth initiatives already underway. With LIV Golf within 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 probably 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 good 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, it is a historic day for the sport everyone knows 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 a corporation that may profit golf’s players, business and charitable partners and fans. Going forward, fans may be confident that we’ll, collectively, deliver on the promise we have all the time made – to promote competition of one of the best in skilled golf and that we’re committed to securing and driving the sport’s future.
“We’re 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 shouldn’t be just an answer to the rift in our game, but additionally a commitment to taking it to recent heights. It will engender a recent era in global golf, for the higher.”
“Today is a really exciting day for this special game and the people it touches world wide,” said PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan. “We’re 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’re committed to unifying, promoting and growing the sport of golf world wide and offering the highest-quality product to the numerous hundreds of thousands of long-time fans globally, while cultivating recent fans.
“There isn’t any query that the LIV model has been positively transformative for golf. We consider there are opportunities for the sport to evolve while also maintaining its storied history and tradition. This partnership represents one of the best opportunity to extend and increase the impact of golf for all. We glance forward to collaborating with Jay and Keith to bring one of the best version of the sport to communities world wide.”
Under the terms of the agreement, the Board of Directors of the brand new entity will oversee and direct all the brand new entity’s golf-related business operations, businesses and investments. The brand new entity will work to ensure a cohesive schedule of events that will probably be exciting for fans, sponsors and all stakeholders. PIF will initially be the exclusive investor in the brand new entity, alongside the PGA TOUR, LIV Golf and the DP World Tour. Going forward, PIF could have the exclusive right to further spend money on the brand new entity, including a right of first refusal on any capital that could be invested in the brand 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 within the combined entity.
Individually, 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, in addition to all other “contained in 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 brand new business entity will include Al-Rumayyan as Chairman and Monahan as Chief Executive Officer; the brand new entity’s Board may even include an Executive Committee comprising Al-Rumayyan, Monahan, Herlihy and PGA TOUR Policy Board member Jimmy Dunne. The complete Board will probably be announced at a later date, and it’s anticipated that every one three founding members could have representation.
Keith Pelley, Chief Executive of the DP World Tour, said “This can be a momentous day. We’re delighted to have the option to not only reignite our relationship with PIF, but additionally to have the chance to construct on our current Strategic Alliance partnership with the PGA TOUR. Together we will probably be stronger than ever and well positioned to proceed to bring the sport to all corners of the globe. To partner on this recent entity and influence the expansion of the sport for all our DP World Tour members is energizing and exciting.”
All parties will work within the months to come to finalize terms of the agreement, with details to be announced in the end.