In Canada: OVO Sells Majority Stake to Authentic Brands Group, Drake Retains Significant Ownership

October’s Very Own has a new home.

Authentic Brands Group has announced the acquisition of a majority stake in the intellectual property of October’s Very Own, also known as OVO, the lifestyle brand and apparel company co-founded by Drake .

The Toronto rapper will retain a significant ownership stake and remain involved with the brand as its driving force, continuing to shape its creative vision.

Related Here’s Every Canadian Artist Who Has Topped the Billboard Hot 100 Dale Morris, Nashville Manager Who Guided Careers of Alabama & Kenny Chesney, Dies at 89 HYBE Pledges Over $300k for Colombia Earthquake Recovery Vince Holding Corp. (VNCE), a longtime partner of Authentic, will be taking over OVO’s operating business, handling clothing design, product development, merchandising and retail stores.

“We’re just a couple kids from Toronto who started something we believed in.

Here we are 20 years later, same kids with bigger dreams.

Authentic and VNCE are the perfect partners to help us continue to grow,” says Drake.

The chart-topping rapper co-founded OVO in 2008 with his close friends and collaborators, entrepreneur Oliver El-Khatib and producer Noah “40” Shebib, originally as a blog and lifestyle movement.

The brand went on to become a Canadian staple worldwide, notably through its signature black-and-gold owl logo.

It made major expansions into high-end clothing and streetwear.

The OVO Sound label also spun off from that brand.

In addition to its online store, OVO runs twelve flagship stores across Canada, the U.S. and the U.K., with locations in Toronto, New York and London.

The brand has fostered collaborative relationships with some of the world’s biggest brands and institutions, curating several high-profile collections in tandem with the likes of MLB, New Era, UFC and the NBA, including an instant-classic merchandise capsule celebrating the Toronto Raptors’ 2019 NBA championship title.

“OVO has earned a place among the world’s most influential lifestyle brands because it has always stood for something authentic and unmistakable,” says Jamie Salter , Authentic’s founder and executive chairman.