John Henry, principal owner of Fenway Sports Group (FSG), has reportedly engaged in discussions with the Saudi Arabian owners of Newcastle United regarding an £800 million-plus investment in a venture unrelated to Liverpool.
Earlier in 2024, a consortium led by FSG initiated a £2.3 billion investment in golf’s PGA Tour through the creation of a new commercial entity, PGA Enterprises.
This venture allows players to become equity holders and opens the door for future co-investment from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).
ESPN has reported that negotiations took place last week in New York. The discussions included PGA Tour Enterprises chairman Joe Gorder, FSG owner John Henry, along with golfer Tiger Woods and Adam Scott.
They are part of a “transactional subcommittee” involved in talks with the Saudis.
This development is notable for both golf and Liverpool due to FSG’s relationship with the PIF, which owns 85 percent of Newcastle.
For the Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour to merge with the FSG-led PGA Tour, there would need to be a cooperative relationship between Liverpool and Newcastle’s owners.
It will be interesting to see how this investment might influence the clubs’ behaviour concerning Premier League matters, including votes on rule changes and issues related to profit and sustainability, given the potential for conflicting interests across different sports.
In an interview with the Boston Globe in July, an outlet owned by Henry, the Liverpool chairman discussed FSG’s growth strategy following their investment in the golf market.
He pointed out that they are now operating at full capacity, stating: “It means that we’re not looking to grow at this point.
“I hate to say that on the record, but we’ve got our hands full with Boston, Liverpool, this, Pittsburgh [Penguins], NASCAR, real estate.
“We’re working on a couple of things that we were working on before we got involved here (PGA Tour).
“There will be other opportunities, I’m sure, that we’ll look at, but we are fully engaged.
“We’re not out there, and I think we’ve never been out there, looking for opportunities.”
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