Liverpool owners FSG team up with Jeff Bezos' brother as talks with Newcastle United PIF over deal continue

Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) have been selected to advance into the next stage of talks in regards to investing in the PGA Tour.

FSG are part of the Strategic Sports Group (SSG), made up of several American businessmen and firms. Included are Tom Ricketts, the owner of MLB team the Chicago Cubs. He was in the reckoning to purchase Chelsea from Roman Abramovich before a Todd Boehly-led consortium won the race in May 2022.

HighPost Capital are another investor part of SSG. The co-founder of HighPost is Mark Bezos - the half-brother of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, with the pair flying to the edge of space together in July 2021. So too is Gerry Cardinale, the managing partner of RedBird Capital Investments, who already hold an 11% stake in FSG.

The PGA is still in discussions with LIV Golf - funded by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund - about a merger. Several top players made the controversial move to LIV, including Phil Mickelson and Brooks Koepka. Last week, John Rahm made the switch in a deal worth a reported £450 million.

After causing a fracture in the sport, it was announced earlier this year that the PGA, LIV and the DP World Tour would form a commercial partnership with a deadline set for 31 December. Talks are continuing with the Saudis but negotiations with SSG are afoot.

A memo to PGA Tour members said the board is 'very confident in an eventual, positive outcome for all players and the PGA Tour as a whole'.

FSG already boast an impressive portfolio that includes Liverpool, MLB team the Boston Red Sox and NHL outfit the Pittsburgh Penguins. In June, John Henry and Co. took their first step into golf when purchasing a franchise in the new Technology Golf League spearheaded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.

Speaking last month, chairman Tom Werner insisted that FSG were not spreading themselves too thin. "There are a number of people who have raised their hands to say that they would be interested in helping the new PGA, and it’s really up to the players and the board to decide the direction they want to go in," he told the Boston Globe at an MLB owners meet. "We’ve said that we think that we can help them, but it’s really up to them to decide the path.

“We’ve always thought golf is a growth sport and we feel we have competency in hospitality, in ticketing, creating enthusiasm for the venue that you come to, sponsorship, relations with the fans — these are areas that we have expertise in.

“There’s a narrative that we’re taking our eye off the ball. Our focus is obviously on the businesses that we are working in. If this happens, it happens, but it’s not going to divert our attention.”