BC Partners Drops $300 Million LIV Golf Relaunch as Star Players Refuse to Sign

Updated Nov 5: LIV will wind down and move to full liquidation

LIV Golf will not restructure and will not go ahead with LIV 2.0. Lawyers for the league told a brief Chapter 11 hearing in New Jersey on Thursday morning that the league will move to a value-maximizing wind-down and full liquidation, and LIV announced the move shortly after the hearing, Front Office Sports reported. NBC Sports, Golf.com and USA Today reported the same outcome.

"The debtors are not currently proceeding with the LIV Golf 2.0 plan. Instead, the debtors are toggling to a value-maximizing wind-down in their business," Matthew Williams, a Gibson Dunn partner acting for LIV, told the court, according to NBC Sports. Williams also told the court: "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," USA Today reported.

LIV said that despite extensive discussions, the parties were ultimately unable to reach a consensual resolution of certain outstanding terms of its 300 million dollar rescue deal with BC Partners Credit, and as a result the deal has been terminated and the transaction is not expected to move forward at this time, Front Office Sports reported. BC Partners pulled out of the deal on Wednesday, which left the league with no other option beyond heading for liquidation of its assets.

"In light of the current circumstances, we believe shifting toward an orderly wind-down is the most responsible path forward for the league at this time," Gene Davis and Jon Zinman, chairmen of LIV's independent board of directors, said in a statement.

BC Partners said in its own statement: "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 chief executive 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 intends to file its Chapter 11 plan and disclosure statement implementing the wind-down by Monday, Nov 9. The case will take several more weeks at least. The creditors committee will meet on Nov 20, and another hearing with Judge Michael Kaplan is scheduled for Nov 24. After five years and more than 5 billion dollars spent by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund since 2022, a formal liquidation plan must still be approved by the court, but the wind-down process is expected to begin on Monday, NBC Sports reported.

BC Partners is dropping its bid to relaunch LIV Golf because the league could not secure enough player commitments, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday. Reuters, the Associated Press and Golfweek reported the same development on November 4.

BC Partners Credit had pledged as much as 300 million dollars for the relaunch, called LIV 2.0. The plan called for at least 10 tournaments, teams and equity for players. BC Partners made an initial investment in October and planned the financing to help LIV emerge from restructuring ahead of the 2027 season.

LIV filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New Jersey on September 8, under a restructuring agreement with BC Partners aimed at preserving the league and making players majority owners of the reorganized company, according to the AP.

The money and the missing stars

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund launched LIV in 2022 and spent more than 5 billion dollars on it, according to Reuters and the AP. Golfweek put the estimate at around 6 billion dollars since 2021. The fund announced in April it would end its backing after the 2026 season.

LIV and BC Partners were seeking 30 to 40 players for next season. Sources told the Financial Times they had reached the lower end of that goal, with another 10 golfers still considering a commitment, while player representatives made financial demands that could not be met. The AP reported LIV was believed to have as many as 30 players willing to stay but lacked star power. Only four players, including Brendan Steele and Cameron Tringale, had publicly stated their support.

Sports Business Journal reported that the big names still in talks last week, Bryson DeChambeau, Cam Smith, Joaquin Niemann and Dustin Johnson, chose not to sign. Reuters reported the same four as players LIV failed to secure.

Star players including Jon Rahm, Sergio Garcia, Tyrrell Hatton and Ian Poulter had already left LIV since the bankruptcy filing, after the DP World Tour said LIV 2.0 players could no longer also compete in its events next season. Rahm was released from his contract in a deal to be approved at a hearing on Thursday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New Jersey.

Liquidation was reported as likely before the hearing

The Athletic, citing multiple sources, reported LIV is preparing to wind down operations after BC Partners concluded it had run out of time to make LIV 2.0 viable. The AP reported the Thursday hearing would now shift toward LIV seeking liquidation of its assets, and Golfweek said LIV is likely to seek liquidation. That reporting described liquidation as likely before the hearing. The hearing on November 5 confirmed the move to wind down and liquidate, as set out in the update at the top of this article.

LIV is expected at a hearing on Thursday in U.S. bankruptcy court in Trenton, New Jersey, to discuss contracts, leases and assets. LIV gave no comment to Reuters, BC Partners did not respond to Reuters, and LIV officials did not immediately respond to the AP or Golfweek.

LIV launched in 2022 and lured leading PGA Tour players including Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson, and later Jon Rahm, with lucrative contracts. Its final event was in August in Indianapolis, won by Michael La Sasso, according to the AP.

Rory McIlroy told reporters on Wednesday, as reported by Reuters: "They took players; they took sponsors; they turned professional golf into an arms race."