PGA Tour - LIV Golf merger: Could the Justice Department stop the deal?

We never had such an occurrence in professional sport made so much wave and surprise, almost to some level of the repulsiveness of the core sports fans, like the merger between the original golf organization PGA and the newly formed Arabian multi-million dollar project of LIV Golf. Even the eminence of the PGA’s CEO Jay Monahan, who came to that power position after being CEO of Deutsche Bank Americas, ended up sidelined in that deal.

We wrote many times in the last two years about his hardline standpoint on their counterparts, especially on the runaway golfers who were marked as ungrateful and greedy, without respect and loyalty to the organization and game of golf. At the, we hope, very end of this PGA/LIV saga, and the negotiations that were happening between them, Monahan staying in the newly formed/merged organization but regressing position-wise, sent a picture of a helpless executive, who had to take out the white flag and bow to the money.

Since the news of Monahan’s medical condition came to light, it appears that the former CEO deliberately intends to exclude him from the situation. This move is viewed as a response from Monahan after being punched by the media, facing disappointment from fans, and being subjected to the harsh scrutiny of the public eye.

Could the Justice Department stop the deal?

Yesterday, the PGA, LIV, and DP Tour received official notification that the U.S. Justice Department is interested in legally investigating their merger. The department will be reviewing the contract and scrutinizing the deal.

The US Justice Department has launched an investigation into a deal between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabian supporters of LIV Golf, raising concerns about potential breaches of federal antitrust laws. According to an anonymous source familiar with the matter, the inquiry is in its early stages, and it is uncertain whether the Justice Department will enforce any action. The Wall Street Journal was the first to report on the situation, while the PGA Tour has declined to comment. The partnership between the PGA Tour, European Tour, and Saudi Arabia’s national wealth fund was established through private talks that several players and some board members were unaware of. The Justice Department had already been investigating antitrust concerns since the previous summer. The deal involves dropping all ongoing litigation to resolve disputes amicably.

The PGA Tour Commissioner described the agreement as a preliminary “framework” with many details yet to be determined. The deal would see the consolidation of commercial business and rights of the PGA Tour, European Tour, and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia into a separate, profit-oriented entity. At the same time, the PGA Tour would maintain its tax-exempt 501(c)(6) status and continue to operate.

In a separate development on Wednesday, US Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Ron Wyden of Oregon called upon the Justice Department’s antitrust division to further scrutinize the abovementioned agreement.