LIV Golf Names No New Owner Yet, But Says Players Will Become Majority Shareholders

Since Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund announced in April it would stop bankrolling LIV Golf after 2026, the league has spent months hunting for a replacement source of cash. On Wednesday, CEO Scott O'Neil said LIV has found one, sort of.

O'Neil announced a signed term sheet with an unnamed "lead investor," approved by LIV's board, with the transaction expected to close in September, according to the Washington Post. He would not name the investor. He would not say how much money is involved. What he did say is that the league's next phase will make players the majority equity holders in LIV Golf, which he called a first for a major global sports league, according to Al Jazeera.

If it happens as described, golfers like Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm would go from contracted employees paid by Saudi money to actual owners of the league they play in. Nothing has closed yet, however.

What's actually confirmed, and what isn't

O'Neil confirmed a signed term sheet exists and board approval has happened. He did not confirm the investor's identity, the size of the investment, or the exact equity split between players and the new backer.

Bloomberg has reported that BC Partners, a global private equity and credit firm, is exploring a deal, with its credit arm said to be leading a group of investors looking at lending LIV money rather than buying into it outright, according to Front Office Sports. A credit deal is structurally different from an equity deal. Lenders expect to be repaid on a schedule. Equity investors bet on upside. Bloomberg's own reporting cautioned that talks with BC Partners "are advancing, but nothing has yet been finalized and details could still change."

BC Partners is also an investor in GSE Worldwide, the sports agency representing DeChambeau and other LIV and PGA Tour players. GSE has denied being involved in any reported BC-LIV deal, according to Front Office Sports. If a firm tied to player representation ended up financing the league those same players work for, it would raise obvious conflict-of-interest questions. As of now, no source has established that BC Partners is definitely the "lead investor" O'Neil referenced. It's one reported candidate among several, and the league itself hasn't confirmed it.

LIV had been seeking $250 million to $350 million in new capital, according to Sportico's reporting cited by Al Jazeera and Front Office Sports. The PIF's total spend on the league since its 2022 launch is projected to exceed $6 billion by the end of this year, per Front Office Sports, though Al Jazeera cites a $5 billion figure for total PIF investment. The gap between what LIV is now seeking and what the Saudis poured in shows how sharply the league's financial scale is set to shrink.

The Michigan finale and the bankruptcy question

LIV Golf Michigan, the league's $40 million season-ending team championship scheduled for August 27-30, is expected to be canceled, according to sources cited by Front Office Sports. The league has made no formal announcement. O'Neil, asked directly about the event Wednesday, said only, "We have not made any final, formal decisions and hope to in the coming weeks."

Multiple reports, including Al Jazeera's, say a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing has been under consideration as part of a broader restructuring. LIV brought on two new independent board directors in April, Eugene Davis of Pirinate Consulting Group and Jon Zinman of JZ Advisors, both of whom have extensive corporate restructuring and bankruptcy experience, according to Front Office Sports. Their presence on the board doesn't prove a bankruptcy filing is coming, but it's the kind of hire a company makes when that option is squarely on the table.

O'Neil also said the league is fielding interest from "more than a dozen additional parties" as potential minority investors, describing a "multipartner model built for long-term stability and growth," according to Al Jazeera. Multiple reports indicate LIV plans to return next season with 10 events, five international and five in the United States, down from a larger international footprint in prior seasons.

What happens next

LIV's New York tournament and this month's event at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster proceed as scheduled regardless of the financing outcome. The real test comes in September, when O'Neil says the transaction is expected to close. Until an investor is named and dollar figures are disclosed, every claim about player ownership, league stability, or a 2027 season remains a term sheet, not a done deal. Whether the Michigan finale survives the next few weeks will be an early signal of how much cash the league actually has on hand right now.