PGA Tour close to historic $3 billion investment deal with Steve Cohen group

The PGA Tour is closing in on a $3 billion investment, excluding rival LIV Golf.

According to Bloomberg, Fenway Sports Group, Mets owner Steve Cohen’s Cohen Private Ventures, a strategic sports group led by Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank and former Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Mark Larry, will receive additional funding from Saudi Arabia and make a historic investment. . . Investment fund. That could value the new nonprofit PGA Tour Enterprises at about $12 billion.

Bloomberg said Saudi-backed LIV Golf may not initially participate in the deal as negotiations continue. The deal comes after the PGA Tour and PIF, which sponsors the LIV, agreed on a framework for a historic merger between the two tours and extended the negotiating period beyond the planned New Year’s Eve deadline.

LIV Golf chairman Yasir Al-Rumaian was unhappy with the private equity investment because he felt LIV Golf was no longer at the center of the negotiations, CBS Sports reported. The deal drew criticism from regulators and lawmakers, in part because of the PIF’s involvement.

The addition of the US SSG will help address these concerns, as well as those of PGA and LIV players, so hopefully a deal can be reached before the Masters in April. Since LIV was established in 2022 and paid high-profile players like Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson eight- and nine-figure contracts on tour, players have disagreed.

In early December, LIV continued to sign players despite ongoing negotiations, inking star Jon Rahm to a $300 million contract.