The PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and the DP World Tour have merged “to unify the game of golf,” it was announced Tuesday.
As part of the merger, the Public Investment Fund, which owns LIV Golf, signed an agreement to combine its golf-related commercial businesses and rights with the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour.
The new entity, with the name to be announced, will be a “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.”
KEY POINTS
- The PGA Tour agreed to merge with rival LIV Golf, which is backed by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund, an entity controlled by the Saudi crown prince.
- The proposed merger comes after the PGA Tour and LIV Golf have been embroiled in lawsuits regarding antitrust claims.
- The deal would end all pending litigation.
The PGA Tour has agreed to merge with Saudi-backed rival LIV Golf in a deal that would see the competitors squash pending litigation and move forward as a larger golf enterprise.
The two entities signed an agreement that would combine the PGA Tour and LIV Golf’s commercial businesses and rights into a new, yet-to-be-named for-profit company. The agreement includes DP World Tour, also known as the European PGA Tour.
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 in the last year. The deal announced Tuesday would end all pending litigation.
PIF is prepared to invest billions of new capital into the new entity, CNBC’S David Faber reported on Tuesday. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
As part of the agreement, the three groups will establish “a fair and objective process for any players who want to re-apply for membership with the PGA Tour or DP World Tour” following the end of the 2023 season, according to a release.
The deal comes soon after LIV golfer Brooks Koepka won the PGA Championship, one of four major titles in men’s golf.
Knew it grom Day One…..
There goes the game for 99% of the players who really support the sport what happened money talks and bullshit walks I might just quit now the game has forgot the people who really finance the sport sad day