LIV Golf has filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan with a New Jersey court, along with a proposed schedule for a final hearing on its disclosure statement on January 7 that would begin liquidation.
LIV Golf filed for bankruptcy on September 8 after the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, which had bankrolled the breakaway league from the start, said a change in strategy meant it would no longer pay for LIV after the 2026 season.
The bankruptcy plan is for an orderly wind-down of LIV. The restructuring agreement with BC Partners Credit, which had pledged $US300 million, failed to garner enough support for a LIV 2.0 version that would have kept the league going in 2027.
“Debtors have determined that no viable restructuring transaction remains available due to lack of player participation and BC Partners’ termination of the Restructuring Support Agreement,” LIV said in a summary of the bankruptcy plan on Tuesday (Wednesday AEDT).
It said PIF invested about $US5 billion in equity capital and that LIV Golf continually operated at a loss and was years away from profitability. The filing also revealed LIV laid off 289 employees and furloughed 22 others roughly a week before filing for bankruptcy.
This was about a month after it finished paying $US15.6 million in retention bonuses to seven executives LIV said was essential to finishing the 2026 season and making plans for restructuring.
A hearing is scheduled for November 24 to conditionally approve the disclosure statement, which requires adequate information for those to whom LIV owes money and begins the wind-down phase of the league’s operations.
The six weeks in between the January 7 hearing to approve the statement are to determine voting rights and take any objections from those who have claims. A wind-down trust would oversee payments to creditors, resolve legal claims and handle other financial matters.
The judge last week approved Jon Rahm’s separation from LIV, which cost the two-time major champion a reported $US100 million he was owed from when he joined the Saudi-funded league at the end of 2023. Rahm won last week in Abu Dhabi for his first regular European tour title since 2022.
Host cities around the world will also be counting the cost of LIV’s demise.
LIV Adelaide was considered one of the flagship events on the circuit, and is estimated to have brought more than $300 million to the South Australian economy over its four years.
Many LIV players, lured to the breakaway circuit by supersized pay cheques, face an awkward and challenging return to established tours.
The futures of players, including Australians Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman and Elvis Smylie, are at stake as the PGA is yet to decide on their futures.
Some LIV players have European tour membership or can try to get sponsor exemptions to tournaments, though not the strongest events on the schedule.
The PGA Tour has not indicated a path back for players, and probably won’t until the bankruptcy proceedings are over.
– With Reuters
