Can LIV Golf Survive With BC Partners’ Backing?

BC Partners Credit’s proposed financing offers LIV Golf a route through restructuring and into 2027. I think a smaller, cheaper version of the league can survive. Becoming a business that pays its own way is a considerably harder assignment.

BC Partners said Monday that funds advised on its platform had made an initial committed investment, describing it as an initial portion of a $300 million financing target. Court approval and customary conditions still apply. Players would become equity owners of both the league and their teams.

LIV has reached the stage where its future depends on a court-approved business plan, investors seeking a return and golfers deciding whether the new terms suit them. Each has a different reason to say yes.

What does the $300 million mean?

Golf Digest reported from court documents that the initial committed investment was $4 million. The distinction matters: $300 million is the cumulative financing target, with the much smaller initial commitment representing a first step towards it.

BC Partners Credit’s interest gives LIV a prospective financial partner for the business emerging from its September Chapter 11 filing. That is a meaningful advance for a league facing the end of its principal backer’s long-term support.

The financing also brings obligations. ION Analytics reported from court filings that the initial proposal combined a secured loan and preferred equity, including a five-year $127.5 million first-lien loan. Those proposed terms show why the headline figure should be understood as a financing package with investor claims attached.

A smaller league needs a smaller bill

PIF’s support has exceeded $5 billion, according to Sportico. Its decision to end long-term backing after the 2026 season changes the financial circumstances in which LIV must operate.

PIF is still helping with the transition. LIV said in September that the fund had committed $49.6 million in financing for the restructuring, to be provided under debtor-in-possession terms, pending court approval. That support has a specific purpose and a limited horizon.

The proposed 2027 calendar has ten events, five in the United States and five internationally, according to Golf Channel. A shorter schedule and reduced purses are sensible foundations for a more disciplined operation.

LIV was reported to be spending more than $40 million per event during its June search for replacement investors. At that spending rate, even ten tournaments would imply more than $400 million of expenditure. The new version needs substantially different economics.

The revenue challenge is just as substantial. LIV’s UK-based operation, covering its non-US business, recorded $64.9 million in revenue against $526.7 million in expenses in 2024, Front Office Sports reported. Those figures cover part of the business, but they show the scale of the gap the old model created.

LIV says its broadcasts are available to audiences in almost one billion households, spanning more than 250 markets. Sustainability depends on converting it into recurring income from broadcasters, sponsors and spectators at a cost the business can afford.

Will the players accept the new deal?

The proposed ownership structure gives participating players 52.5% of the league, BC Partners and any minority investors 45%, and management 2.5%. Players would also receive equity in their teams.

Ted Goldthorpe, partner and head of BC Partners Credit, said in the announcement: “Giving players real and actionable ownership in the League and the teams is a unique opportunity in professional golf, and it aligns everyone around the long-term success of the product for the game and for the fans.”

Player ownership could make the team format more convincing. Golfers with a financial stake have a reason to care about the value of their teams, the appeal of events and the league’s commercial relationships. Team identity would become something they help build and benefit from.

The negotiations also involve money already owed. BBC Sport reported that the bankruptcy filing placed 14 current and former players among LIV’s largest unsecured creditors, with their claims adding up to more than $45 million. Jon Rahm’s listed claim was $7.5 million.

Bloomberg Law reported that the initial deal contemplated participating players exchanging claims for equity and signing new contracts, with future cash compensation still to be negotiated. An ownership stake offers potential future upside; its appeal depends on the business prospects and the cash terms alongside it.

Rahm drew a clear boundary when asked in June about joining investor pitches.

“I know nothing about business. I’m never going to claim to know anything about business, and if I was in a business pitch, I would not know the first thing to say. My job is to play golf, and I’ll say it’s hard enough as it is, especially this week.”

Being a shareholder would allow Rahm to benefit from commercial success while concentrating on his golf. The broader challenge is persuading him and other leading players that the proposed league offers sufficient sporting and financial value. As of Monday, Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau had not publicly committed to LIV 2.0, Golf Digest reported.

A leaner LIV needs golfers who give people a reason to watch. Their decisions will help determine both the cost of the new business and the product it can sell.

Investors and golfers need different returns

BC Partners Credit can see attractions beyond the immediate tournament business. Bloomberg Law’s reporting on the proposed deal identified net operating loss carryforwards of about $3 billion in the United States and $2 billion in the UK.

Those tax attributes are potential offsets against future taxable income, with their value dependent on applicable rules and future profits. They can help explain an investor’s interest in the restructuring. The golf operation still needs paying customers and a workable budget.

My view is that LIV’s strongest survival case is now a focused team competition with fewer events, lower costs and players invested in its growth. BC Partners’ stated ambition to complement the established tours fits that approach. The financing can give that business time to develop; commercial income must eventually sustain it.

The court is scheduled to consider the amended agreement and financing on 14 October. The player-commitment deadline is 25 October.

Joseph Orbach, a bankruptcy partner at Thompson Coburn, described the challenge to Bloomberg Law: “Bankruptcy helps facilitate all that but it’s no guarantee that a deal is going to come together, and if a deal comes together, it’s no guarantee that it’s going to work.”