LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil Talks State of LIV Golf

**SPEAKER_1** (0:02)
Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio, news.

**Dani Burger** (0:07)
So let's talk about the state of LIV Golf. I know you've said before you need about three years to reach profitability. At this moment, what is the amount of funding you're looking for and how's the journey to getting that funding?

**Scott O'Neil** (0:18)
Sure. We're looking at raising $300 million, and we're talking to a combination of traditional private equity investors that invest in sports, talking to family offices, and a group that I would characterize as sports team owner billionaires. They take place mostly in North America, a good healthy dose in the UK and some in Europe, and then of course some in Asia, Australia, and South Africa.

**Scarlet Fu** (0:43)
What kind of rights are people demanding? What kind of stakes are they looking at? Just give me a sense of what the conversations look like and how they're shaping up.

**Scott O'Neil** (0:51)
It's a really interesting dynamic in that we have billions of dollars of NOLs, Net Operating Losses, that we believe we can carry forward with the business.
And so that has us structuring the company in a very unique way.
So we're spending a lot of time with investors really understanding how to best preserve those NOLs, which is, for me, I love my way around a deal, and being able to work with the advisors we have in DuSera, our bank, has been quite an experience.

**Scarlet Fu** (1:21)
So it's not just a stake in the league that perhaps people are looking for. They might also have team level investments that they could be looking to achieve.

**Scott O'Neil** (1:30)
Yes, absolutely. I'll just take you, tell you a little stories. When I was at Madison Square Garden, I was the president of Madison Square Garden. I started in 2008 You very well know what was happening in 2008 with the financial crisis.
The NICs were valued around 600 million. The New York Rangers were valued about 400 million. You look today, and there isn't a person on the planet that would value the New York NICs under $10 billion.

**Dani Burger** (1:50)
Especially not now.

**Scott O'Neil** (1:51)
And not a person on the planet that would value the New York Rangers under $4 billion. And you think about this growth in team valuation, and that's what we think is the economic engine to drive LIV. So when you invest in the league, you also get stakes in all the teams.

**Dani Burger** (2:04)
I mean, LIV also just had this really unique prospect coming in. But the PGA responded. It responded with mega purses, giving players some stakes in certain tournaments.
Now that the PGA has responded, what is LIV's USP? What is your unique selling point in which you exist in the golf world?

**Scott O'Neil** (2:23)
Yes, I think the PGA Tour does a wonderful job serving the 340 million US golf fans.
It's the 8 billion that I work with. And so we operate on five continents, we're in 10 countries, and incredible golf markets that are growing like a weed. And so the whole bet is, are you buying the 8 billion or are you buying the 340 million? And I love the 340 million bet for the PGA Tour. I just like the LIV Golf bet for the 8 billion a lot more.

**Dani Burger** (2:53)
I mean, a lot of people would look at LIV and say one of the unique selling points is the talent that you're able to bring over.
DeChambeau, one of the faces of LIV Golf, his contract comes up in October. Can you get him back?

**Scott O'Neil** (3:04)
Oh, absolutely. You know, we have stars like Bryson DeChambeau, and John Rahm, and Terrell Hatton, Dustin Johnson, KM. Smith, household names.
The difference with this league more than any other business I've ever been a part of, and I've been a part of a few, is that this league was built for, by and through the players.

**Dani Burger** (3:22)
Yeah, but isn't it just you paid them a lot, so they came over? Can you still do that?

**Scott O'Neil** (3:25)
Well, we're actually like building it for them. So they'll actually be the majority owners of this business going forward. And there hasn't been a time in history where players have owned a majority of a league. And that's a pretty special opportunity. I think also some players want something different.
And none are the same. But some maybe grew up in Australia, like Camp Smith, or grew up in Korea, like Ben An, or grew up in the UK, like Ian Poulter, or Sergio Garcia, who grew up in Spain. And they think, it'd be good to travel the world. It'd be good to grow the game around the world and give back. And maybe they live in the US, or maybe they live in Dubai, or maybe they live in South Africa. So I don't think there's one shoe fits all. I think for someone who wants to change the game, wants to play for big prize purses, who wants to be part of a team, that's the other kind of interesting part of LIV Golf, is we operate in teams.