LIV Golf bankruptcy proceedings could begin as early as the week of September 7 as the Saudi-backed golf league races to secure financing and restructure its operations ahead of a planned 2027 season.
The potential Chapter 11 filing comes as LIV Golf faces a major financial and organizational crossroads. The league is negotiating with private capital firm BC Partners over funding for a significantly smaller circuit, while also attempting to reach settlements with players who are owed guaranteed payments beyond the end of the current season.
According to people familiar with the discussions, some initial settlement proposals offered to players were worth only a few cents on the dollar. The situation reflects growing uncertainty surrounding the future of a league that has spent billions of dollars since its launch in 2022.
LIV Golf Bankruptcy Talks Intensify
The prospect of a LIV Golf bankruptcy follows a decision by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to end its direct funding of the league after the current season.
The PIF launched LIV Golf as a challenger to the established US PGA Tour, spending heavily on player contracts, signing bonuses and tournament prize money. However, the league now needs to find a sustainable financial model as it prepares for a proposed 2027 schedule.
LIV management remains dependent on the PIF to help facilitate the transition, even though the sovereign wealth fund is reportedly unwilling to provide substantial new funding beyond the current commitments.
People familiar with the situation say PIF could provide less than $100 million in debtor-in-possession financing if a bankruptcy filing occurs. Such financing would allow the business to continue operating while its restructuring is handled through the courts.
The objective, according to one person familiar with the discussions, is for PIF to make a clean exit from its role as LIV’s principal financial backer.
BC Partners Considers Major Investment
At the center of the restructuring effort is BC Partners, whose credit division has been negotiating a potential financing package with LIV.
Executives from the private capital firm have attended recent LIV events as part of their due diligence and have spoken with players about the proposed future structure.
The discussions reportedly involve a possible investment of up to $300 million. One potential structure would involve acquiring LIV assets and combining them with other sports-related assets in a new vehicle.
A significant attraction for investors could be LIV’s accumulated net operating losses, or NOLs. According to the report, those losses total more than $5 billion across the United States and United Kingdom.
NOLs can potentially be used to reduce taxable income, although tax rules impose restrictions on how they can be transferred or utilised after ownership changes.
Liberty Strategic Capital, the investment firm founded by former US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, has reportedly expressed preliminary interest in participating in a potential transaction.
Players Face Difficult Choices
One of the biggest obstacles to the restructuring is the financial position of LIV players.
LIV is attempting to negotiate settlements with golfers who have contractual guarantees extending beyond 2026. The proposed restructuring could divide players into several groups.
Some golfers may agree to settle their existing claims and continue with a restructured LIV. Others could accept settlements without joining the new circuit. A third group could choose to pursue their contractual claims through bankruptcy proceedings as unsecured creditors.
That uncertainty could make it harder for BC Partners or other potential investors to finalize financing.
The proposed 2027 LIV model is expected to be much smaller than the current operation. Plans reportedly envision a global schedule of around 10 tournaments, with players potentially needing opportunities to compete on other tours during the rest of the season.
LIV Faces Pressure From Other Tours
The restructuring is also complicated by LIV’s relationship with established golf organizations.
The DP World Tour has indicated that players competing in a future LIV circuit could face fines or bans if they participate in LIV events scheduled during the same weeks as DP World Tour tournaments.
That creates another challenge for a slimmed-down LIV schedule, which would likely depend on its players being able to compete elsewhere during the rest of the golf calendar.
LIV CEO Scott O’Neil has argued that professional golfers should not be uniquely restricted from playing on other tours.
The issue could become increasingly important if the league reduces its own schedule and seeks to establish a more sustainable model.
Possible New Jersey Bankruptcy Filing
A potential LIV Golf bankruptcy filing could take place in federal court in New Jersey, according to people familiar with the discussions.
New Jersey has recently hosted several prominent Chapter 11 cases and is regarded as a jurisdiction experienced in complex corporate restructurings.
Reports have also indicated that LIV established a new subsidiary in New Jersey this summer. A person familiar with the situation said the entity could provide a route for a bankruptcy filing in the state.
The league is also facing claims from multiple tournament vendors who allege that they have not received payments. Meanwhile, expenses associated with professional advisers and new independent directors have reportedly risen into the tens of millions of dollars.
What Happens Next?
The coming weeks could determine the future of LIV Golf.
The league must resolve outstanding player payment issues, secure sufficient financing and establish the legal framework for its proposed 2027 operation.
BC Partners is reportedly waiting for greater clarity over those issues before committing to a transaction. At the same time, LIV and the PIF face pressure to reach agreements with enough leading players to make a restructured league commercially viable.
A Chapter 11 filing could provide a mechanism for renegotiating contracts and liabilities while allowing LIV to continue operating during the restructuring process.
However, bankruptcy would represent a dramatic change for a league that entered professional golf with enormous financial backing and ambitions to challenge the traditional structure of the sport.
The LIV Golf bankruptcy situation could therefore become one of the most consequential developments in professional golf since the league’s launch.
For now, the future remains dependent on negotiations between LIV, the PIF, BC Partners, players and other potential investors. The outcome could determine whether LIV emerges as a smaller and more sustainable competition in 2027 or whether the ambitious Saudi-backed experiment takes a very different path.
