All articles tagged with #public investment fund
Greg Norman, LIV Golf’s former CEO, says he is gutted by LIV’s demise as Saudi-backed funding winds down; with Norman replaced in 2025, LIV is pursuing a lead investor deal amid a compressed timeline, a scaled-back schedule, and smaller purses as it seeks to secure continued backing.
LIV Golf is scrambling to survive beyond 2026 after CEO Scott O’Neil disclosed a lead investor with a signed term sheet, but the funding is far smaller than Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. The league faces canceled events and star players weighing moves as it seeks a viable, player-influenced model, hoping to retain stars like Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm, secure world ranking status, and forge new partnerships to sustain itself.
Electronic Arts has completed a $55 billion leveraged buyout led by the Saudi Public Investment Fund with Silver Lake and Affinity Partners (led by Jared Kushner), taking EA private and paying $210 per share to stockholders. The deal adds about $18 billion in debt and has the new owners planning roughly $700 million in annual cost cuts, including organizational efficiencies, which has sparked expectations of mass layoffs as the company restructures under private ownership.
LIV Golf has signed a term sheet with BC Partners’ credit division to anchor a “LIV 2.0” investment as the Public Investment Fund winds down financing, with a definitive agreement possible next month to cover the tour through 2030. The deal aims to reassure star players—who are owed potentially hundreds of millions under existing contracts—that they will stay with a restructured, equity-backed league, potentially settling legacy liabilities at a discount via a pre-packaged bankruptcy to clear the path for new investors. Negotiations involve multiple parties and aim to have players collectively own a majority of the tour while ensuring they do not pursue further payouts from the PIF.
Electronic Arts completed a $55 billion leveraged buyout led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, taking the company private at $210 per share and delisting from NASDAQ. CEO Andrew Wilson named Cam Weber as chief studios officer and David Tinson as COO (and presidents) as part of a leadership overhaul to drive growth and innovation, including AI initiatives.
A Saudi-led consortium including the Public Investment Fund completes a $55 billion leveraged buyout to take Electronic Arts private, one of the largest such deals in history, with financing borrowed to close the deal and ongoing questions about debt, governance, and potential changes to the company’s strategy and content.
Electronic Arts has completed a $55 billion leveraged buyout to become a private company, with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund owning roughly 93.4% and $20 billion of debt financing—the largest LBO on record. The deal is expected to push EA to rely more on bankable, big-franchise releases (Battlefield, EA Sports, The Sims) and less on smaller, experimental titles as it charts its next chapter.
GDQ announced a sponsored SNK showcase, but canceled it within hours after community concerns over SNK’s Saudi ownership and human-rights issues. The organization apologized, pledged to strengthen sponsor vetting, and stated it would not accept funds from this sponsorship; the event had raised about $2.41 million for Doctors Without Borders.
Amid LIV Golf’s uncertain future after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund pulled funding, Bryson DeChambeau says he won’t rejoin the PGA Tour this season, intends to grow his YouTube audience (with multilingual dubbing options) and play a limited schedule if LIV continues, and has floated a broader plan for golf—potentially a merger-like collaboration between the PGA Tour and DP World Tour—to unite the sport.
Graeme McDowell says LIV Golf could shed its Saudi-linked, 'nasty' narrative now that the Public Investment Fund is withdrawing funding, noting it may become more viable as a business and could downsize to survive, while focusing on LIV as a competitive golf product and acknowledging the impact on players and staff amid the uncertain future.
A podcast discussion argues that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund funding of LIV Golf, videogaming ventures, and other entertainment properties is faltering, risking major assets and soft-power aims as divestments ripple through sports and the gaming industry, with concerns about authenticity, profitability, and potential deal disruptions (e.g., EA) if the money dries up.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund will end subsidising LIV Golf after this season, prompting a strategic pivot with a new board and a plan to sell the league’s 13 teams to brands and investors amid doubts over a more than $5 billion investment; the DP World Tour signals openness to reintegrating LIV players under tighter rules, while players debate schedules, sanctions, and Ryder Cup eligibility, highlighting tensions between LIV and traditional tours.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund will stop financing LIV Golf after this season, ending roughly $6 billion in funding that drew top players but left LIV with about $1.1 billion in losses from 2022–2024 and no merger with the PGA Tour. The league must find replacement financing amid ongoing uncertainty, while players weigh their futures and the PGA Tour signals accountability for past rule-breaking.
Paramount’s FCC filing reveals that the merged Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery will have 38.5% of its equity owned by foreign investors, allocated to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (15.1%), UAE’s SWF (12.8%), and Qatar Investment Authority (10.6%), with no board seats or voting rights for these investors. The company is seeking a declaratory ruling to permit indirect foreign ownership above 25% and to allow future increases up to 20% for certain non-controlling investors. The Ellison family and RedBird Capital will retain the largest stake and 100% voting power, while European regulatory approvals and potential state challenges remain in play.
LIV Golf's Mexico City event proceeded despite reports that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund may withdraw funding; the league is pivoting from open-ended backing to a private-equity–driven plan—selling minority stakes in its 13 teams, boosting sponsorships, and pursuing partnerships—to survive through 2026, even as profitability remains years away. Star players like Bryson DeChambeau engaged with the media but left early with a wrist injury, while Jon Rahm offered little on the uncertainty gripping LIV's future.