According to Golfweek columnist Eamonn Lynch, the PGA Tour has “winnowed the list of companies being considered as private equity partners in its new for-profit entity, and it includes some of the most prominent figures in American finance.”
For those unfamiliar with the parlance, that means they have effectively separated the wheat from the chaff as they continue to seek new investment in addition to hopes that an agreement can be reached that will see Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund invest considerable capital over the coming years.
With the number of interested parties reportedly well over a dozen, Lynch claims that only five remain in the mix to become the primary investment partner of the newly formed PGA Enterprises which came into being following the June 06 announcement that the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and the PIF had put a Framework Agreement in place that would see all litigation between the parties cease and a new, ultra-lucrative era for men’s professional golf ushered in.
Lynch writes that the five companies remaining under consideration are: Fenway Sports Group (FSG), owners of Liverpool FC and the Boston Red Sox, which is partnered with investors Steven Cohen and Arthur Blank; Liberty Strategic Capital; Acorn Growth Companies; Eldridge Industries; and a group being referred to as Friends of Golf, believed to be comprised of a number of influential and well-connected investors. Additionally, several other companies are in consideration as additional capital investors, but these five are the only ones considered main investors.
Recently, sports and entertainment giant Endeavor, the parent company of the WWE and UFC among others, announced that they’d had a bid rejected by the Tour and they remain the only company to have made a public statement on their interest with the agency’s president, Mark Shapiro talking to Sportico last week.
Of the five remaining, FSG have the most ties to sporting ventures, and have made recent forays into the golf world when they invested in Boston Common, the Rory McIlroy lead team set to compete in the upcoming TGL arena league which will be played on Tuesday nights in Florida.
Acorn Growth Company’s largely deal in the defense, intelligence and aerospace industries, and Lynch argues that they may be a more palatable option for the U.S. market with the Tour being widely criticised for its intent to partner up with Saudi Arabia by members of the US Senate and survivors and family members of the 911 World Trade Centre attacks. Former PGA Tour board member and former CEO of AT&T Randall Stephenson, who resigned in July in protest to the proposed deal with the PIF is among the names connected with the Acorn bid.
Liberty Strategic Capital is headed by former Trump administration Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin, Eldridge Industries own the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team and are part of the consortium that purchased the Chelsea FC, and the Friends of Golf group is believed to include Wall Street financial titans George Roberts and Henry Kravis, along with several others who all share a passion for the game.
At this time, little more is known about how any potential agreements would take shape, but long-term investment as opposed to short-term is the preferred model with the relatively slow-moving wheels of the PIF negotiations causing concern that there is an unwillingness to even attempt to reach agreement on the Saudi’s behalf and the soft December 31 deadline almost certain to be extended well into 2024.
Leave a comment