LIV Golf is to be wound down after its main investor withdrew support because the proposed new league has failed to attract enough players.
As was first reported in the Financial Times earlier this week, LIV had hoped BC Partners Credit would provide a possible $300m in financing after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund withdrew its backing in April, leading to the league filing for bankruptcy protection in September.
The funding could have helped the league move forward in a new form, dubbed ‘LIV 2.0’, but BC Partners has decided it is not viable to pursue a deal.
While leading players such as Jon Rahm and Sergio Garcia had already walked away, that those working on LIV 2.0 had received commitments from co-investors, felt support from within the golf ecosystem and had about 30 players signed up, including major winners. But the defections of the likes of Tyrrell Hatton, Ian Poulter, Graeme McDowell and a host of other recognisable names proved too much for the league’s investors to stand.
The DP World Tour also added pressure on LIV Golf players considering re-signing to the new league in that should they do so they would be banned from playing in any of its tournaments. The DP World Tour had previously allowed LIV golfers to appear in their events in certain instances, a policy which it has now chosen to halt.
LIV told the federal bankruptcy court in September that it would wind down the business if BC Partners could not put together a bona fide league within a few weeks. PIF, which owns 99 per cent of LIV, controlled the bankruptcy process by extending $550m of loans that had the highest priority for repayment.
Matt Williams, a lawyer acting for LIV, announced in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy court hearing on Thursday that the proposal for LIV 2.0 is not viable.
He said: “Despite everyone’s best efforts we just couldn’t get to the level of combined financial and player support necessary for a viable LIV 2.0 within the required timeline. It was not an easy conclusion for anyone who believed in what LIV Golf built but it is the right one for these estates in these circumstances.
“Obviously if the facts or the circumstances change the strategic initiative committee can and will revisit this decision. But sitting here today we believe the wind-down path is the best path to maximise value for stakeholders.”
A spokesperson for BC Partners said: “BC Partners Credit supported a transaction that aligned the interests of players and investors, offering a credible path toward building a sustainable future for LIV Golf. While there was great support for the league, we are disappointed that mutually acceptable terms could not be reached among the various stakeholders.”
LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil said: “Building a global platform designed to bring new, younger, and more diverse fans to the sport of golf has been the round of a lifetime for all of us. LIV Golf was fun, demanding, inspiring, at times challenging – but always rewarding.”
The winding up of LIV Golf will leave many players, suppliers and contractors owed hundreds of millions of dollars, but there seems very little chance of them being recompensed by the debt-laden operation. LIV Golf and the Saudi PIF are understood to be seeking legal releases from potential liability claims that creditors could pursue.