LIV Golf files bankruptcy plan and sets sight on January liquidation
Saudi-backed league's restructuring agreement with BC Partners Credit fails, leading to wind-down plan
Quick Look
- LIV Golf filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan with a New Jersey court on Tuesday, proposing a Jan.
- 7 final hearing that would begin liquidation after its restructuring agreement with BC Partners Credit failed and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund said it would stop funding after 2026.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
LIV Golf filed for bankruptcy on Sept. 8 after the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia said a change in strategy meant it would no longer fund LIV after the 2026 season. The restructuring agreement with BC Partners Credit, which had pledged $300 million, failed to garner enough support for a LIV 2.0 version that would have kept the league operating in 2027.
LIV Golf filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan with a New Jersey court Tuesday, along with a proposed schedule for a final hearing on its disclosure statement on Jan. 7 that would begin liquidation.
LIV Golf filed for bankruptcy on Sept. 8 after the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, which had bankrolled the breakaway league from the start, said a change in strategy meant it would no longer fund LIV after the 2026 season.
The bankruptcy plan calls for an orderly wind-down of LIV. The restructuring agreement with BC Partners Credit, which had pledged $300 million, failed to garner enough support for a LIV 2.0 version that would have kept the league operating in 2027.
"Debtors have determined that no viable restructuring transaction remains available due to lack of player participation and BC Partners' termination of the Restructuring Support Agreement," LIV said in a summary of the bankruptcy plan.
It said PIF invested approximately $5 billion in equity capital and that LIV Golf continually operated at a loss and was years away from profitability. The filing also revealed that LIV laid off 289 employees and furloughed 22 others roughly a week before filing for bankruptcy.
This came about a month after LIV finished paying $15.6 million in retention bonuses to seven executives it said were essential to completing the 2026 season and making plans for restructuring.
A hearing is scheduled for Nov. 24 to conditionally approve the disclosure statement, which must provide adequate information to creditors and would begin the wind-down phase of LIV's operations.
The six weeks leading up to the Jan. 7 hearing to approve the statement will be used to determine voting rights and consider objections from creditors. A wind-down trust would oversee payments to creditors, resolve legal claims and handle other financial matters.
The judge last week approved Jon Rahm's separation from LIV, which cost the two-time major champion a reported $100 million he was owed from when he joined the Saudi-funded league at the end of 2023. Rahm won last week in Abu Dhabi for his first regular European tour title since 2022.
The other LIV players, who have been banned by the PGA Tour, must now figure out where to play. Some have European tour membership or can try to obtain sponsor exemptions to tournaments, though not the strongest events on the schedule.
The PGA Tour has not indicated a path back for players and likely won't until the bankruptcy proceedings are over. (AP)
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
The bankruptcy court will hold a Nov. 24 hearing to conditionally approve the disclosure statement, followed by a Jan. 7 final hearing to begin liquidation.
Very likely · Within weeks
A wind-down trust will oversee payments to creditors, resolve legal claims, and handle other financial matters.
Very likely · Within weeks
Open Questions
- What will happen to LIV players banned by the PGA Tour?
- How will creditor voting rights be determined before the Jan. 7 hearing?
- What specific legal claims will the wind-down trust resolve?
