Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund was set to walk away from its $5 billion golf league with nothing a month ago. Now the league's collapse has put it first in line to get money back.
LIV Golf told a New Jersey bankruptcy court on Thursday that it was dropping its "LIV 2.0" relaunch and winding down instead. It is due to file its wind-down plan on Monday.
That reverses the plan we reported on last month. Under it, the Public Investment Fund's stake and loans would have been cancelled without a payout, and PIF would have owned none of the new league.
First in line
In a wind-down, secured lenders are paid first. PIF lent LIV nearly $500 million in June to keep the 2026 season going.
Players, golf courses and suppliers owed money stand behind it. LIV's investors, including PIF's own stake, come last.
A buyer for PIF's loan
PIF may not stay in the process for long. London buyout firm BC Partners wants to buy the roughly $50 million bankruptcy loan PIF extended to LIV, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.
Whoever holds that loan steers the bankruptcy. BC Partners still wants to launch a successor league, the FT said.
The firm had pledged up to $300 million for LIV 2.0 but walked away last week when too few top players signed on.
The bigger picture
PIF spent most of its $5 billion building the league, paying players and funding prize money, and none of that comes back.
The fund decided in April to stop funding LIV after 2026, saying the league no longer fitted "the current phase of PIF's investment strategy."
It hasn't left entertainment, though. After taking video game maker EA private, it is weighing a $25 billion deal for Unity.
