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🇦🇺 Australia /Economy & Trade

LIV Golf files for bankruptcy as players brace for more turbulence

From ABC Australia · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire From a news agency New plan
  • LIV Golf filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, reporting liabilities of $500 million to $1 billion and assets of $100 million to $500 million.
  • The league said a $49.6 million loan from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund would support its restructuring and transition to a player-first ownership model.
  • LIV expects BC Partners Advisors and other potential investors to provide exit financing, with the company aiming to leave bankruptcy by early 2027.

LIV Golf has filed for bankruptcy in New Jersey, but the breakaway league says the move is intended to keep it in business while it reshapes its ownership and funding.

The company’s Chapter 11 petition lists between $500 million and $1 billion in liabilities and between $100 million and $500 million in assets. LIV plans to use a $49.6 million bankruptcy loan from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to support the restructuring.

LIV said the process would help it move forward with backing from BC Partners Advisors and shift towards a player-first ownership model. BC Partners and other potential minority investors are expected to provide exit financing and sponsor the restructuring of the company’s debt. LIV hopes to emerge from bankruptcy by early 2027.

To be fair for us, people that joined LIV, I'm pretty good at dealing with turbulence.

· Jon RahmRahm discussed uncertainty around LIV Golf before the league’s bankruptcy filing became public.

The Public Investment Fund owns 100% of LIV Golf’s equity, according to the petition. It has invested more than $5 billion in the league since its launch in 2022, funding large signing bonuses that attracted prominent players from the PGA Tour, including Cameron Smith, Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Dustin Johnson.

Rahm, DeChambeau and Johnson are listed as LIV’s three largest unsecured creditors. Each is owed more than $5 million. Rahm, speaking before the bankruptcy filing became public, said the league’s future involved many possible developments. “To be fair for us, people that joined LIV, I'm pretty good at dealing with turbulence,” he said.

LIV has been preparing for its next phase since the Public Investment Fund said in April that additional investment no longer aligned with its strategy and that it would end funding after the 2026 season. The league also laid off most of its workforce in August. Chief executive Scott O’Neil said, “We believe deeply in LIV Golf's future, the opportunity in front of us, and the people who will help us realise it.”

We believe deeply in LIV Golf's future, the opportunity in front of us, and the people who will help us realise it.

· Scott O'NeilThe LIV Golf chief executive expressed confidence in the league’s future during the restructuring.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Australia in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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