LIV's 'white knight' eyes $100M team valuations; Sergio Garcia granted exit

LIV Golf has secured its initial investment as part of a bankruptcy restructuring agreement, with CEO Scott O'Neil dubbing private equity backer Ted Goldthorpe the league's 'white knight.' O'Neil and Goldthorpe appeared together Tuesday at the Sportico Invest Conference in London and commented on the progress of their restructuring support agreement for the 5-year-old golf league once backed by Saudi royal money. 'We're moving from a Saudi-type business plan to a -- as I like to say -- a 'business' business plan,' O'Neil said. LIV filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in early September and entered an agreement with Goldthorpe's firm, BC Partners Credit. The agreement was contingent on at least 50% of players with financial claims against the league agreeing to participate in the league's reboot, the so-called LIV 2.0, by Oct. 13. That deadline has been extended to Oct. 25. That group also must represent at least two-thirds of the total dollar amount of player claims. Late Monday, BC Partners announced its initial investment in LIV Golf, which it said was the first part of a $300 million outlay 'to help LIV Golf emerge from its restructuring as a fiscally strong, sustainable, team-focused golf league that complements the existing professional tours and contributes to the long-term potential of the sport.' Part of the plan to become more fiscally sustainable appears to be raising the value of LIV's 13 franchises, such as Jon Rahm's Legion XIII and Bryson DeChambeau's Crushers GC, of which the captains currently hold a financial stake. Goldthorpe was asked at the conference what the best-case scenario would be for the franchises' future valuations. 'I think you could easily see a path in very short order to over a $100 million valuation per team,' Goldthorpe said. 'I think that's a real number.' BBC reported that the agreement created an extension until Oct. 25 for players to negotiate terms to return to LIV. Players are owed 'at least' $45 million in all, per the report, and have the option to leave. One of the most famous names attached to LIV did just that on Tuesday, with the league terminating Sergio Garcia's contract at the Spaniard's request. Garcia's attorney argued in a six-page court filing last week that terminating his client's previous contract 'should not be objectionable' to the league because it 'is consistent with (LIV Golf's) statement that the agreement is 'not part of (LIV Golf's) go-forward business plan.'' Garcia, 46, won the 2017 Masters and has collected 11 PGA Tour titles and 16 wins on the DP World Tour (formerly European Tour) over his career. He recently told reporters he plans to play in DP World Tour events in 2027. The DP World Tour reportedly is unwilling to grant releases to golfers who want to play on its tour and in LIV Golf next year. LIV Golf's next bankruptcy hearing will be held Wednesday in Trenton, N.J.