NEW YORK — LIV Golf said Thursday it intends to move to an orderly wind-down of its operations, ending the breakaway league’s attempt to relaunch under a new financing deal.
The league said in its own announcement that a proposed recapitalization with BC Partners Credit has fallen apart. The two sides talked at length, LIV Golf said, but could not settle the outstanding terms of the deal set out in their restructuring support agreement. The agreement is terminated. The deal is not expected to go ahead.
The deal was meant to go through LIV’s Chapter 11 case in New Jersey. On Thursday that changed in court. Lawyers for the league told the judge it would liquidate instead — not revive itself as LIV 2.0, Reuters reported, citing attorney Matthew Williams.
Gene Davis and Jon Zinman, speaking for the board’s special committee, said the leadership team had run a disciplined process and brought credible options to the table.
“In light of the current circumstances, we believe shifting toward an orderly wind-down is the most responsible path forward for the League at this time.”
The wind-down follows the timeline the court had already approved for the cases, LIV Golf said. That timeline was built from the start to allow an orderly shutdown if no acceptable reorganization deal could be reached. The league said it will stay open during the process to any other offer from a third party that could get more value from its assets.
Chief executive Scott O’Neil looked back on what the league tried to do, calling the work of building a global platform for new, younger and more diverse fans the round of a lifetime for the team.
He thanked the players, whom he described as a global roster from more than 20 countries, along with partners, host communities and sponsors. PIF got a thank-you, too, for backing the league, and BC Partners Credit got one for its work on the deal that fell through.
PIF money built LIV. The fund has backed it since the 2022 launch. In April, Reuters reported, PIF said the money would stop after the 2026 season — more than $5 billion in by then. BC Partners was to replace some of that: up to $300 million for staging tournaments in 2027.
Its events were not just golf. LIV put teams on the course, took play to markets around the world, and paired the rounds with live music and local food and culture — a formula it said opened doors for players.
For the wind-down, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher leads the legal work, with Cole Schotz alongside. AlixPartners’ David Orlofsky is running restructuring. Ducera Partners is the banker, C Street the communications adviser.
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