The PGA Tour has announced that it has come to an agreement with private equity collective the Strategic Sports Group for an investment worth an initial $3 billion.
The deal was made official to the PGA Tour’s membership on Wednesday and coincides with the launch of the new for-profit PGA Tour Enterprises, which PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan will serve as chief executive.
SSG is a collective of several investors and companies fronted by the Fenway Sports Group. The sports conglomerate owns the Boston Red Sox, the Pittsburgh Penguins, Liverpool Football Club and a NASCAR racing team. Other members of SSG include Arthur Blank, owner of the Atlanta Falcons; Wyc Grousbeck (Boston Celtics); Marc Lasry (Milwaukee Bucks); Tom Ricketts (Chicago Cubs); Cohen Private Ventures (New York Mets) and HighPost Capital.
SSG will invest $3 billion into PGA Tour Enterprises with an initial input of $1.5 billion for a valuation of over $12 billion. Players will receive equity in PGA Tour Enterprises, with payouts being based on ‘career accomplishments, recent achievements, future participation and services’.
“Today marks an important moment for the PGA Tour and fans of golf across the world,” Jay Monahan said. “By making PGA Tour members owners of their league, we strengthen the collective investment of our players in the success of the PGA Tour. Fans win when we all work to deliver the best in sports entertainment and return the focus to the incredible – and unmatched – competitive atmosphere created by our players, tournaments and partners.
“And partnering with SSG – a group with extensive experience and investment across sports, media and entertainment – will enhance our organisation’s ability to make the sport more rewarding for players, tournaments, fans and partners.”
In a joint statement, PGA Tour player-directors Patrick Cantlay, Peter Malnati, Adam Scott, Webb Simpson, Jordan Spieth and Tiger Woods, said: “We were proud to vote in unanimous support of this historic partnership. It was incredibly important for us to create opportunities for the players of today and in the future to be more invested in their organisation, both financially and strategically.”
PGA TOUR has stated that the deal with SSG will allow for co-investment from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the financial backers of the LIV Golf League, in the future, although if and when that might happen is still not known. The PIF’s investment has been hampered by US antitrust regulations, with the US Congress announcing this week that its investigation into PIF and its investments in American businesses is on-going.