The PGA Tour plans to finalize specific cooperation terms with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) in 2024 and hopes to add Strategic Sports Group (SSG) as a shareholder in the partnership.
"We set a deadline of December 31, but as things stand, the parties will continue to negotiate with each other in the new year," PGA Tour Special Envoy Jay Monahan announced in an internal letter on the last day of 2023. In this document, the top leader of the PGA Tour also said that the negotiation situation with SSG is progressing well, reaching the stage of finalizing the cooperation terms and drafting related documents.
Through that, Mr. Monahan emphasized the goal of the organization that owns the top golf arena in the US, SSG will hold a shareholder seat alongside PIF Saudi and DP World Tour in PGA Tour Enterprise.
PGA Tour special envoy Jay Monahan. Photo: AFP
"Multilateral partnerships like this help us strengthen the unity of golf, thereby continuing to invest and modernize the game for the common good," the most powerful figure in the PGA Tour shared. In the latest update, the PGA Tour emphasized that it will have the right to direction and control, while PIF Saudi, SSG and DP World Tour are all non-controlling shareholders in PGA Tour Enterprise.
This enterprise is expected to be the legal entity that operates and exploits according to the preliminary agreement for the project to merge commercial activities on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour with LIV Golf League of PIF Saudi, announced on June 6 this year. But the relationship at that time was only three parties, until now is still hindered by the US government, due to concerns about national security and the loss of control of the domestic golf industry to the Saudi economic organization with an estimated net worth of 600 billion USD. This is the reason why the PGA Tour - PIF Saudi deal is being investigated by the Department of Justice and the Special Committee in the US Congress, revolving around suspicions of violating antitrust laws.
According to experts, that trouble is likely to be avoided thanks to the recent appearance of SSG with many billionaires and leading sports business groups in the US.
ESPN said SSG plans to pump more than $3 billion into PGA Tour Enterprises. The company, after adding the Saudi PIF stake, will have a combined capital of more than $7 billion.
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