[Photo: Zhizhao Wu]
LIV Golf chief executive Scott O’Neil remains bullish on his league’s future in the wake of Saudi Arabia pulling its funding. But in a TV appearance on Tuesday he wouldn’t go so far as to guarantee its immediate future.
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O’Neil is starting to make pitches to prospective financiers now that the Saudi PIF has stopped bankrolling the league after spending somewhere in the range of $US5 to $US8 billion on the venture. The league is seeking $US250 million to $US350 million to continue operations and is projecting profitability within three years. Axios reported earlier this week that LIV was targeting profitability in 20 months. In a February interview with the Financial Times, O’Neil said profitability could be five to 10 years away, and in a since-deleted on-air comment, O’Neil said the league had funding only through to the end of 2026.
However, earlier this week Front Office Sports reported there is doubt among LIV executives that the league will be able to complete its remaining four events on the 2026 calendar. LIV has already postponed one event this season, citing summer heat and soccer’s World Cup. Asked during a guest spot on CNBC’s afternoon programming, O’Neil was asked if he could guarantee those events will be played.
“What I can guarantee is a heck of a return if you come and invest in this business,” O’Neil said.
O’Neil asserted LIV has a “very, very special opportunity to create tremendous value”, and said he’s had five meetings about funding interest and more scheduled for this week. “While we have incredible business momentum, what we don’t have is a lot of time, so we’re very urgently out there talking to those who are interested,” he said.
In late April LIV created an independent board of directors to help focus on securing long-term financial partners after Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the PIF and architect of LIV Golf who had held the position of chairman of LIV’s board, stepped down. Still, while PIF is gone, O’Neil believes they will fund the remaining four events.
“I can say they’ve been terrific partners so far, and you have to take an incredible organisation like PIF at their word,” O’Neil said. “They’ve been very public about funding us through the season, so we are full steam ahead.”
LIV Golf’s next event is scheduled for July 23-26 outside London.
