PGA Tour, PIF to extend merger deadline, says report
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Tiger Woods had initially said the deadline for the merger negotiations between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund was Dec 31.
PHOTO: AFP
LOS ANGELES – The PGA Tour plans to announce an extension of its self-imposed deadline to complete merger negotiations with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), The Telegraph reported on Dec 28.
After Dec 31 was picked as a deadline to finalise details for the framework agreement revealed in June, the target has been moved to early April, before the US Masters, according to the report.
“There’s no chance a deal can be announced by the end of this week,” an unnamed source told The Telegraph.
“But, maybe by the end of March.”
The newspaper described the source as a “leading industry figure”, without mentioning the name.
This comes after PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan called New Year’s Eve a “firm target” to complete the deal and Tiger Woods – who is a player-director on the PGA Tour’s policy board – reaffirmed that it wanted a definitive agreement in place by that date.
However, the deadline has been frequently reported to have the option of being extended, if necessary.
The Saudi sovereign wealth fund finances the PGA Tour’s competitor, LIV Golf. The PGA Tour and Europe’s DP World Tour announced a stunning merger with LIV back in June.
Since then, the PGA Tour has also entered into negotiations with a consortium of United States-based professional sports owners called Strategic Sports Group (SSG), led by Fenway Sports Group and including figures like the New York Mets’ Steve Cohen and the Atlanta Falcons’ Arthur Blank.
Fenway Sports Group is the owner of Major League Baseball’s Boston Red Sox and also English Premier League club Liverpool.
“Dec 31 is our time frame and our deadline. That hasn’t changed,” Woods said previously, before the latest report.
“We’re trying to get a deal done with all of the different entities that we have going on here. SSG has come into the mix now. They (SSG) obviously have a lot of equity and a lot of name investors that have the same alignment that we have, and we are all heading in the right direction.”
ESPN reported on Dec 15 that SSG was prepared to inject more than US$3 billion (S$3.96 billion) into the tour’s new for-profit entity. REUTERS
