BC Partners is dropping its bid to relaunch LIV Golf, walking away from a planned investment of up to $300 million after it could not secure enough player commitments for a 2027 tournament series, the Financial Times reported Wednesday.
The private capital firm, which provides financing to middle-market companies, made an initial investment in LIV Golf in October and had planned to provide up to $300 million in financing to help the league emerge from restructuring and strengthen its finances ahead of the 2027 season. Its decision came as a deadline loomed to show there was enough player support to hold a tournament series in 2027, the FT said, citing people directly familiar with the matter.
LIV Golf, a competitor to the PGA Tour, filed for bankruptcy protection in New Jersey in September as part of a restructuring after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund — which has invested more than $5 billion in LIV since its launch in 2022 — announced it was ending its financial backing after the 2026 season. The league launched in 2022 and lured leading players from the PGA Tour, including Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson, with lucrative contracts. LIV has said it plans to continue operating while it reorganizes.
Star players stayed away
LIV failed to secure contractual commitments from DeChambeau and Johnson, as well as others including Cam Smith and Joaquin Niemann, leading BC Partners to pull out, Sports Business Journal reported. Former world number one Jon Rahm is among a wave of high-profile golfers who have left LIV since it filed for bankruptcy protection.
DeChambeau backed the model; McIlroy called it an arms race
DeChambeau, one of the biggest names on LIV’s player roster, said recently that the business model for the league’s proposed 2.0 era makes a lot of sense
and that he hoped it would last forever. Others have been critical of the league, with DP World Tour chief executive Guy Kinnings saying that LIV had sought to undermine the European circuit.
They took players; they took sponsors; they turned professional golf into an arms race
Rory McIlroy, speaking to reporters ahead of the Abu Dhabi Championship
Thursday hearing in Trenton
LIV is expected to appear at a Thursday hearing in US bankruptcy court in Trenton, New Jersey, to discuss various contracts, leases and assets. The Athletic, citing multiple sources, reported that LIV Golf is preparing to wind down operations after BC Partners concluded it had run out of time to make the relaunch viable. LIV Golf did not provide a comment when contacted, and BC Partners did not respond to requests for comment.
Earlier coverage: BC Partners Credit drops LIV Golf 2.0 plans over player support
