The Justice Department’s review of the PGA Tour’s proposed merger with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund could delay the outcome of the deal.
via WSJ:
The Justice Department has notified the PGA Tour that it will review the Tour’s planned merger with LIV Golf’s Saudi backers for antitrust concerns, people familiar with the matter said, initiating a regulatory obstacle to the stunning deal that the warring golf bodies hope will stabilize the divided sport.
A review by the Justice Department—which had already been investigating the PGA Tour and other leading golf bodies for anticompetitive behavior—introduces uncertainty to the planned joint venture between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. It also makes it probable that any transaction that is hammered out between the rivals won’t take effect for some time.
One senior Tour executive told employees this week that the outcome of the blockbuster proposal, announced last week, likely won’t be known for at least a year, a person familiar with the remarks said. Regulatory review could extend even longer than that.
The official also said to them that it’s possible that the union between the Tour and Saudi Arabia’s sovereign-wealth fund will fall apart entirely if the sides cannot settle on specific terms.
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