LIV Golf gets first piece of $300 million lifeline as bankruptcy case moves forward

LIV Golf, the Saudi-founded golf tour trying to reorganize its finances in bankruptcy court, received the first installment of a rescue package Monday when the investment firm BC Partners Credit made what it called an initial committed investment in the league, a step toward a planned $300 million recapitalization.

The move is the latest in a monthslong effort to keep LIV afloat after Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, which has pumped an estimated $5.3 billion into the league since its 2021 launch, told LIV it would end its financial backing at the close of 2026. LIV filed for Chapter 11 protection in a New Jersey bankruptcy court on Sept. 8, hours after striking a restructuring agreement with BC Partners.

Under the proposed restructuring, BC Partners and affiliated co-investors would supply up to $300 million in financing, with BC Partners funds and partners providing as much as $150 million of that total. In exchange, BC Partners would take a 45% ownership stake in the reorganized league. Players would collectively become majority owners, holding 52.5% of the restructured company, while league management would retain 2.5%, according to court filings described by Sportico.

A ticking clock for players

The deal is contingent on enough current LIV players signing onto the new "LIV 2.0" structure. The restructuring agreement originally required commitments within 35 days of the bankruptcy filing, but LIV has since pushed that deadline back to Oct. 25 to give players more time to decide. To proceed, at least half of the players with financial claims against the league must sign on, and those agreeing must collectively represent at least two-thirds of the total value of outstanding player claims, which include signing bonuses and other compensation still owed to stars such as Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau, who were named in ESPN's reporting on the original filing.

Monday's announcement from BC Partners Credit does not finalize the rescue; the broader financing package still requires approval from the bankruptcy court, and LIV must first demonstrate sufficient player buy-in. But it signals that BC Partners is prepared to begin moving money into the league even as those conditions are still being worked out, a sign of confidence closely watched by players, rival PGA Tour officials and golf's sponsors alike.

LIV's bankruptcy marks a stark turn for a league that upended professional golf with enormous signing bonuses funded by Saudi oil wealth. If the restructuring succeeds, LIV would emerge in 2027 as a smaller, player-owned operation no longer dependent on a single state-backed patron — a structural shift that would also reshape the stalled unification talks between LIV and the PGA Tour, which have dragged on for more than two years without a resolution. For now, golf's power brokers are left watching a bankruptcy docket rather than a leaderboard, with the league's survival resting on spreadsheets of player claims rather than birdies and bogeys. PGA Tour officials and the league's remaining sponsors are watching the case closely for signs of how a reorganized, player-owned LIV might approach those unification talks once it emerges from bankruptcy.