Liverpool owner John Henry faced 'bidding war' to complete 'unique deal'

John Henry has acknowledged that he entered a 'bidding war' to get Sports Strategic Group (SSG) involved with the PGA Tour's new profit-making entity, PGA Tour Enterprises.

Earlier in the year, SSG pledged a dizzying $1.5 billion investment into the PGA Tour. This marked Henry's venture into professional golf, complementing his stakes in soccer, ice hockey, and baseball. The interest was sparked after the Liverpool owner noted the PGA Tour's plan to collaborate with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF).

Last June, the US-based circuit caused a stir in the sport as it announced an agreement with PIF, ending its ongoing disagreements with rivals at LIV Golf - funded by LIV.

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Following this announcement, Henry's interest in investing in professional golf emerged, following his observation that there were no American investors included in the PGA Tour's decision to align with the Middle Eastern fund. According to the Boston Globe , Henry met with Mark Attanasio, owner of the Milwaukee Brewers, and their engagement started there.

"Nobody was stepping forward [to invest]" Henry said. "I remember asking in that meeting, ‘Why aren’t any Americans stepping up?’ Someone who was tied into the golf world said, ‘Don’t worry, there are a number of banks and bankers who are looking into this.’ So two weeks went by. And still, no one stepped up."

That's when the Henry-led FSG decided to make its move, entering into what would become a bidding war to partner with the PGA Tour. "It became a bidding war," said Henry. It is one of the most unique deals in the history of sports."

"Why do I say that? You have North American team owners coming together to invest as relatively small shareholders fully aligned with the players and having four seats on this board offering not directions of, ‘This is what we’re going to do,’ but offering counsel, advice, and support for the best way to build this enterprise going forward."

Since then, Henry has taken up a role on the PGA Tour's transactional committee, which is currently engaged in delicate negotiations with the Saudi fund in hopes of brokering a peace deal. The lingering uncertainty is whether the PGA Tour will lift the suspensions it imposed on players who jumped ship for the Saudi-backed tour.

Henry, like many stakeholders, sees reconciliation between the tours as a good thing for professional golf. He further stated: "The players have the desire, the Public Investment Fund has the desire, same with the Tour in general - I don’t think there’s anyone in golf that doesn’t want to see (a unification of professional golf) happen."