Report: Department Of Justice To Review PGA Tour/PIF Merger
The Justice Department is reportedly planning to review the merger between the PGA Tour and the PIF
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has told the PGA Tour of its plan to conduct a review of the proposed merger with the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia, which bankrolls LIV Golf.
A "framework agreement" to combine the commercial assets of the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and the PIF into a new, for-profit entity was announced last week. Few were involved in brokering the deal the PGA Tour said would "unify the game of golf" following the launch of LIV Golf that created division in the male ranks and led to a war of words that spilled into the courtrooms.
The PGA Tour announcement also included news that an "end to all pending litigation between the participating parties" had been agreed.
However, the legality of the deal has since come under scrutiny. The US Senate has opened an investigation into the merger, with letters sent to PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman requesting access to a wide range of information dating back to October 2021.
Among the list of demands, US Senator Richard Blumenthal asked for all communications between the PGA Tour, LIV Golf and the PIF during the period in question, as well as details of how the new entity will be structured and how the PGA Tour plans to maintain its tax-exempt status.
Now the Justice Department, which was already investigating claims made by LIV Golf that the PGA Tour had engaged in anticompetitive behaviour, is also set to review the planned merger.
Andrew Beaton and Louise Radnofsky of the Wall Street Journal reported that "people familiar with the matter" have revealed that the PGA Tour has been told of the DOJ's intention to scrutinise the deal for "antitrust concerns".
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A lifelong golf fan, Andy graduated in 2019 with a degree in Sports Journalism and got his first role in the industry as the Instruction Editor for National Club Golfer. From there, he decided to go freelance and now covers a variety of topics for Golf Monthly.
Andy took up the game at the age of seven and even harboured ambitions of a career in the professional ranks for a spell. That didn’t pan out, but he still enjoys his weekend golf at Royal Troon and holds a scratch handicap. As a side note, he's made five holes-in-one and could quite possibly be Retief Goosen’s biggest fan.
As well as the above, some of Andy's work has featured on websites such as goal.com, dailyrecord.co.uk, and theopen.com.
What's in Andy's bag?
Driver: Callaway Mavrik Sub-Zero (9°)
3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus (15°)
Driving iron: Titleist U500 (17°)
Irons: Mizuno mp32 (4-PW)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM9 (50°, 54° and 58°)
Putter: Titleist Scotty Cameron Newport 2.5
Ball: TaylorMade TP5x
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