LIV Golf is preparing to launch its updated business plan and investor pitch as early as Thursday, aiming to raise new capital to continue operations after the current season ends, people familiar with the plans told CNBC.
The new golf course will seek funding of between $250 million and $350 million from potential investors, according to the sources, who requested anonymity given the confidential nature of the discussions. The capital increase projects are being put on the market by the investment bank Ducera Partners, which advises LIV Golf.
Parts of the proposal seen by CNBC target accredited investors and aim to “fully recapitalize LIV and chart a path to profitability.”
The move comes weeks after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, or PIF, announced it would stop funding LIV’s operations after the 2026 season. PIF Chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan also resigned as chairman of LIV Golf, which he founded alongside former professional golfer Greg Norman in 2022.
The league announced last month that a newly created independent board of directors had been established, led by capital markets and restructuring veterans Gene Davis of Pirinate Consulting Group and Jon Zinman of JZ Advisors.
The new capital increase paves the way for control of the league’s ownership not only by new investors, but also by the league’s players and LIV management.
LIV may have a tougher path ahead in fundraising following the withdrawal of PIF support. Multiple reports in recent months have valued PIF’s investment at more than $5 billion over the life cycle of its involvement in LIV, which has yet to result in a profitable operation in a golf league.
Since its inception, LIV has made headlines with massive contracts reportedly awarded to top talent to lure them away from the established PGA Tour. This considerable expenditure was justified in part by supporting the vast resources of one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds.
Now that PIF funding is no longer the cornerstone of LIV’s future, questions arise about how LIV CEO Scott O’Neil will restructure business operations without billions of dollars in funding. The league has hundreds of millions in contractual obligations with players and aims to become profitable within the next two years.
Earlier this week, Bloomberg News reported that LIV had begun evaluating bankruptcy as a potential tool to revive business operations with a goal of profitability. Bankruptcy filings have been used by other companies as a way to cancel contractual obligations in areas such as real estate and employment contracts.
The potential for bankruptcy has reportedly led some players within the LIV ranks to explore other avenues to continue their professional gaming careers. Nonetheless, a number of high-profile LIV players have recently expressed interest in keeping the LIV business running.
During a press briefing during last week’s PGA Championship tournament at Aronimink Golf Club outside Philadelphia, Jon Rahm, captain of the LIV Golfer and Legion XIII team, said he had confidence in the work LIV was doing and its ability to develop a good plan for the future.
Rahm had already acknowledged some of the news regarding potential capital increases and restructurings.
“I believe for the business plan to change, whatever they’re proposing, it’s going to take some concessions on our part,” Rahm, one of LIV’s highest-paid athletes, said during a news conference at LIV Golf’s Virginia tournament at Trump National Golf Club in Potomac Falls, Virginia.
One of LIV’s greatest value propositions has been the prominence of team golf. In the first months after the league’s launch, insiders had promoted team golf as a potentially massive growth engine for the sport and used the team aspect in pitches aimed at getting PGA Tour players to join the new tour.
The new financing plans will try to convince potential investors that team spirit and seasoned managing directors will be the main drivers of the business plan in the coming months.
LIV’s proposed schedule for next season will target 10 team events in total across the world, according to investor pitch seen by CNBC, seeking to replicate what it has achieved with well-attended events in places like South Africa and Australia. The pitch also notes year-over-year growth in sponsorships, partnerships, ticket sales, retail and YouTube viewership.
One thing LIV won’t have a problem getting as it launches its campaign to attract new investors is media attention. Coverage of the ongoing battle between LIV and the PGA Tour has led to what appear to be battle lines drawn between fans who support the long-established PGA Tour and those who are staunch supporters of LIV and its format.
Meanwhile, the golf world is also awaiting the next major update from the PGA Tour regarding its future operations, where more substantial updates are expected from CEO Brian Rolapp around mid-to-late June.