SURJ Sports Investments, the sports arm of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), is reportedly on the verge of buying a stake in the Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) body.
SURJ, which also has investments in place with the Professional Fighters League and with sports subscription platform DAZN, is in advanced talks to invest in the region of $20 million into the PTO, the Sky News outlet has reported, also stating that a deal could be announced as one part of a wider PTO funding injection.
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The DAZN stake purchase was unveiled in late February – SURJ has taken over around 10% of the platform, paying $1 billion.
The PIF, meanwhile, also has a controlling stake in English soccer side Newcastle United, and in four top-tier Saudi soccer clubs.
This would represent its first move into the world of triathlon.
For the PTO, these reports come after the property secured $10 million in investment from Cordillera Investment Partners in mid-March.
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By GlobalDataThat investment management firm said at the time that it saw the PTO as “a perfect fit for its growing portfolio of companies that are under the radar to the institutional investment world but demonstrate compelling growth and return potential.”
Neither the PTO nor SURJ has yet publicly commented on the investment reports.
The PTO was originally formed in 2014, with the agreement of a funding deal with venture capitalist Michael Moritz in 2020 – the founding investor and one of the main factors behind its expansion and growth in recent years.
Other investors who have since joined Moritz include private equity fund Divergent Investments, media and entertainment giant Warner Bros. Discovery, and health-focused venture fund, Eckuity, when the PTO announced a Series B funding round in December 2022.
In 2024, the PTO launched the T100 Triathlon World Tour, featuring the world’s top 20 female and top 20 male triathletes, as a joint venture with the World Triathlon governing body, with the inaugural edition held in Dubai last year.
The 2025 season has expanded to nine races, up from six last year, with its next event taking place in London, UK, later this month. The campaign then runs through until a final race in Qatar, in December.
Last year also saw the PTO appoint Oakvale Capital as a financial advisor to aid it with attracting new investment and funding.
In April this year, meanwhile, Stuart Ramsey – previously of the Rugby Football Union governing body in England – joined the PTO as the body's first chief commercial officer.
