The PGA Tour landed a historic $3 billion investment from Strategic Sports Group (SSG), a consortium of billionaire sports team owners. The group, which includes some of the most notable names, like Arthur Blank (Atlanta Falcons), Marc Lasry (Milwaukee Bucks), Wyc Grousbeck (Boston Celtics), and Steve Cohen (New York Mets), is led by Fenway Sports Group (FSG). Fenway reportedly launched a solo investment bid that didn’t materialize.

Eventually, the group rounded up the big-money investors to become a stakeholder in the newly formed for-profit entity, PGA Tour Enterprises. Will the Fenway Sports Group, which famously ‘owns’ Boston Red Sox and Liverpool, among other teams across various sports, own the PGA Tour Enterprises as well? What do the terms of the deal spell out?

How much control will Fenway Sports Group have?

SSG, despite investing $3B, will be a minority stakeholder in the future entity. A 13-member board will be in charge, per the three-page memo that the Tour Commissioner shared. The board comprises seven players, four SSG representatives, one independent director from the Players Advisory Council, and Jay Monahan himself. Whether anyone from the Fenway Sports Group will be on the board is not clear yet.

As part of the deal, around 200 qualified PGA Tour Pros will have equity in $1.5 billion of SSG’s initial investment. “By making PGA Tour members owners of their league, we strengthen the collective investment of our players in the success of the PGA Tour,” the 53-year-old commissioner said.

Monhan has also been named as the CEO of the for-profit entity. It was a rather shocking development, considering PIF Chief Yasir Al-Rumayyan was slated to be the commander-in-chief of the new entity. A New York Post article earlier claimed that the PIF chief was unhappy with the developments. However, as Monahan and Al-Rumayyan continue to kick the can further down the road, a change in the leadership later can not be entirely ruled out.

All in all, the billionaire investor group doesn’t exclusively ‘own’ the PGA Tour Enterprises and won’t be exclusively controlling the future direction of the Tour. Nevertheless, holding a stake—no less than $3 billion—definitely offers them a say in future decisions. Let’s also not forget that Fenway Sports Group is a veteran player in the sports industry with multiple successful investments in their portfolio.

Exploring the sports investment of FSG

Led by veteran American businessman John Henry, the group started investing in sports with the Boston Red Sox in 2002, buying an MLB franchise for $380 million.The BoSox went on to win four World Series titles, the latest coming in 2018.

In less than a decade, the group expanded its portfolio beyond the Atlantic, buying Liverpool FC of the English Premier League, the top tier of British soccer. Although it would take a few more years to end their 30-year title drought, which they did in 2019–20, Liverpool was crowned the champions of Europe in 2019 itself.

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