Sources: PGA Tour finalizes $3B deal as LIV talks continue
The PGA Tour has reached a $3 billion deal with Strategic Sports Group to create a for-profit entity called PGA Tour Enterprises.
PGA Tour finalizes $3B deal
The PGA Tour has finalized an agreement with Strategic Sports Group, a consortium of billionaire sports team owners, to infuse up to $3 billion into a new for-profit entity, PGA Tour Enterprises, sources told ESPN on Wednesday.
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan was expected to inform PGA Tour, PGA Tour Champions and Korn Ferry Tour members of the deal in a conference call Wednesday morning.
The conference call, which was scheduled for 9:30 a.m. ET, will be listen-only. The player relations staff told tour members in a memo that there will be several meetings and touch points over the next several weeks to address their questions and provide additional details.
Deal with Strategic Sports Group
ESPN reported on Dec. 15 that a deal with Strategic Sports Group was imminent. SSG includes Fenway Sports Group founders Tom Werner and John Henry of the Boston Red Sox, Mark Attanasio (Milwaukee Brewers), Arthur Blank (Atlanta Falcons), Wyc Grousbeck (Boston Celtics), Steve Cohen (New York Mets), Tom Ricketts (Chicago Cubs) and others.
The deal with SSG consists of an initial investment of $1.5 billion. SSG has consented to an additional investment in PGA Tour Enterprises by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), pending regulatory review and approval.
Strategic Sports Group would be a minority investor in PGA Tour Enterprises, and the PGA Tour would remain the majority shareholder.
Continued negotiations and scrutiny
Meanwhile, the PGA Tour is continuing its negotiations to finalize an agreement with the PIF and the DP World Tour, which would potentially inject additional billions of dollars into PGA Tour Enterprises, according to sources.
The PGA Tour's proposed alliance with the PIF and DP World Tour has already drawn the scrutiny of Congress and the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division.
The future of LIV Golf, which has continued to poach PGA Tour players in recent months, including Masters champion Jon Rahm and England's Tyrrell Hatton, is one of the sticking points in the negotiations with the PIF. The Saudis have been insistent that team golf remain a part of the sport's future, according to sources.
