Following news that its majority owner may take the company private, Endeavor emerged in the news again this weekend. Two weeks after the media conglomerate reportedly made a private equity offer to the PGA Tour, the Tour has decided to balk.
Sportico wrote about the latest development between the PGA Tour and Endeavor. The PGA Tour has taken on several bids for private equity while the LIV Golf merger awaits approval. LIV Golf, of course, is funded entirely by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel made it known earlier in October that the company made a bid to potentially invest in the PGA Tour. At the time, Awful Announcing wrote on the news, including a statement Emanuel made.
“They created a profit investment opportunity for the PGA. We put in a bid, I think, a week ago, Friday. We are in, in TKO, the sports business. I’m an avid golfer,” Emanuel said. “It’s one of the great sports, I love it, I think we can add to it what we’ve added to all of our sports based on the flywheel.”
Sportico exclusively reported that the two sides could not come to an agreement. The publication posted that Endeavor “sought a multiyear deal that would have them pay $25 mil/year for leading a group that would acquire ‘no more than 10%’ of a PGA investment vehicle.”
EXCLUSIVE: @Endeavor is no longer in talks to lead investment into the @PGATOUR after making an offer that included a larger strategic partnership https://t.co/g0LmggiEGd
Endeavor sought a multiyear deal that would have them pay $25 mil/year for leading a group that would… pic.twitter.com/XkZZYTSEG0
— Sportico (@Sportico) October 27, 2023
Golf Digest wrote that Endeavor COO Mark Shapiro said of the now fallen-apart deal, “We’re big fans of golf, and we’ll continue to champion the PGA Tour, but we’re not going to be an investor at any level.”
Late last week, news emerged that Endeavor sought to “maximize” its value to its shareholders following continued fracture between its perceived value and their internal belief of what their assets are worth. Its majority owner, Silver Lake, published a response to Endeavor’s comments, suggesting that they were “working toward making a proposal to take Endeavor private.” The company recently made headlines by helping spearhead the WWE-UFC merger for the newly minted TKO Group Holdings, Inc., which they also explicitly said they would not consider the sale or disposition of its current interest in it. Endeavor has 51 percent of its shareholdings currently invested in TKO.
While it would have made sense for Endeavor to have an investment in the PGA, the two sides couldn’t work it out. If it was financial, well, at least that makes a little bit of sense considering how long the money in Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is. Endeavor’s continued hunt for private equity continues, and time will tell to see if they decide to shutter themselves up and go private.
[Sportico, Golf Digest]
