LIV Golf’s vision for LIV 2.0 took a small step forward Monday night when it formalized its restructuring support agreement (RSA) with BC Partners, a London-based private equity firm that has agreed to fund LIV 2.0. On Monday, BC Partners announced an “initial committed investment” as part of a targeted $300 million in cumulative financing to help the league emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy and pursue a future centered on global team golf with a smaller schedule and player equity.
The agreement was filed Monday as part of LIV’s bankruptcy case, and the financing funds require court approval. The league filed for Chapter 11 on Sept. 8, and a hearing is scheduled for Oct. 14. If approved, it would allow the league to move forward with various plans to launch LIV 2.0 in 2027, which would likely include a 10-tournament schedule and half of the events hosted internationally. Monday’s press release marked the first time BC Partners credit head, Ted Goldthorpe, has spoken publicly on the investment.
“Our goal is to facilitate LIV Golf’s emergence from the restructuring process on sound financial footing and with renewed momentum heading into the 2027 season,” Goldthorpe said. “Just as importantly, we want the players who make this league what it is to share in what they help build. Giving players real and actionable ownership in the league and the teams is a unique opportunity in professional golf, and it aligns everyone around the long-term success of the product for the game and for the fans.”
The RSA also made an important change to LIV’s initial bankruptcy filing and agreement between the league and BC Partners.
BC Partners had initially set a deadline of Oct. 13 for a “requisite number of players” to commit to LIV 2.0. But the RSA filing on Monday moved that deadline back to Oct. 25 and changed the definition of “requisite number of players.” Originally, the number of commitments that would ratify a deal was both 1) 50 percent of players with financial claims, and 2) those commitments had to represent at least two-thirds of the amount of money LIV owed players. If those benchmarks weren’t met, BC Partners could back out. However, the amended motion filed Monday no longer included those figures. Instead, “requisite players” was amended to mean the number “necessary to ensure the continuation of the Company Parties’ business as a bona fide golf league” Put simply, BC Partners now decides whether LIV has earned enough player commitments to do business. One key element of the LIV 2.0 vision — and for gaining player commitment — is that committed players will retain 52.5 percent of equity in the league’s newest iteration.
While Bryson DeChambeau has supported LIV’s new vision, it’s unclear how many players are willing to stay with the breakaway league. Sergio Garcia asked the court last week whether his contract was terminated because of the bankruptcy filing or whether he can terminate it himself, and recent filings suggest he will be able to make that decision on his own. Joaquin Niemann spoke to Latercera before winning the Chilean Open last weekend and said he was still deciding “whether I want to stay and believe in what’s happening in the league or go play more in Europe and from there try to get on the PGA Tour.”
As for owning equity in LIV Golf, Niemann told Latercera there were positives, but he wasn’t sure it was what he wanted.
“Knowing that it’s something that I think could take a couple of years. I don’t know if it’s something I want to do at this stage of my career. So, these are questions I have to ask myself before making a decision,” Niemann said, in comments translated from Spanish.
O’Neil has spent the last several months trying to keep LIV together after the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) backed out of funding it perpetually. He has been working to secure outside funding — which he has from BC Partners — and to sell his players on his vision for LIV 2.0. He now has until Oct. 25 to gain commitments.
“We believe deeply in the future of this league and in the opportunity to build something distinctive alongside our players,” O’Neil said in a statement about BC Partners’ investment. “We’re delivering on our major milestones, and while there is still work ahead, today marks meaningful progress toward a player-owned, team-focused, truly global league that complements the wider game and creates new opportunities for players, fans, partners, and the next generation of golfers.”
O’Neil and Goldthrope spoke on Tuesday at a Sportico event in London. O’Neil said the ongoing war in the Middle East, which contributed to the PIF pulling out of LIV, forced him and his team to rethink their plan to make LIV Golf profitable and sustainable, leading him to a “scaled-down,” 10-tournament vision for LIV 2.0.
“Then a war happened and the funding dried up,” O’Neil said. “We had to get creative and we had to find discipline and we had to come together as a team and rewrite the business plan, moving from a Saudi-type business plan to a business-business plan.”
The PIF has raised red flags, according to the Financial Times, about BC Partners’ interest in LIV since the bankruptcy filings, saying BC seeks it only for tax write-off purposes, not to run a profitable golf league. Goldthorpe, who said he believes LIV franchises could quickly be worth “$100 million,” acknowledged the potential tax benefits on Tuesday but disputed the notion that it’s the only reason they are investing.
“Yeah, of course,” Goldthorpe said about the potential tax breaks that could come with LIV’s losses. “There’s a big NOL (Net Operating Losses) in the U.S. and the UK, but that’s not the driving force behind the investment. Some of this has been misconstrued. We’re all in on the LIV, and we’re very committed to it. The tax stuff is just an added benefit.”
The next step for LIV 2.0 comes at the Oct. 14 hearing, where a judge will decide whether to approve the RSA, among other various motions for operations moving forward.
