A US senator investigating the merger of PGA Tour and Saudi-backed LIV Golf said he may seek subpoenas to obtain more information on specifics such as the structure and governance of the new entity.
(Bloomberg) — A US senator investigating the merger of PGA Tour and Saudi-backed LIV Golf said he may seek subpoenas to obtain more information on specifics such as the structure and governance of the new entity.
“There a very, very few details,” Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, said Sunday on CBS’s Face the Nation. “Any of the tools at our disposal, including subpoenas and hearings, recommendations for action and legislation, are all on the table.”
Critics, including Blumenthal, allege that LIV’s involvement in a highly recognizable American brand is an attempt to deflect from the kingdom’s human-rights record and style of government.
The deal has raised concern among US and European antitrust regulators. The US Justice Department, which was already investigating PGA over a dispute with LIV, will review the proposed deal, people familiar with the matter have said.
Blumenthal, who chairs the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, said on June 12 he had asked PGA Commissioner Jay Monahan and LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman for records and communications on various aspects of the deal, including how the agreement was reached and how any newly formed entity will be structured and run.
“I think a hearing is possible within weeks,” Blumenthal said Sunday. He said “there are clearly risks to American security in a repressive regime having this kind of influence over a central, iconic cherished institution.”
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