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Drake / Instagram
Drake
Business NewsOVO made legal headlines earlier this summer over a financial dispute wherein the Florida-based debt lending company Applied Real Intelligence (A.R.I.) alleged that the company failed to pay back a loan of $5.2 million Canadian dollars, and resultantly owed an additional $5.3 million for defaulting. According to the Toronto Star, OVO was already negotiating its deal with Authentic around the same time.
OVO Sells Majority Stake to Authentic Brands Group, Drake Retains Significant Ownership
Drake will continue to shape the creative vision of the company he co-founded while scaling globally. Authentic Brands Group's portfolio includes Sports Illustrated magazine and the personal brands of Elvis Presley and Shaquille O'Neal, among others.
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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.
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.
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Announced as a partnership with Drake, Authentic will help scale the brand globally.
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, England. 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. "Drake and his team have built something with incredible cultural influence. We see a significant opportunity to take that even further, opening new markets, building new businesses and reaching more people around the world without losing what makes OVO, OVO."
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Authentic Brands Group is a major licensing company in the U.S. whose portfolio includes the ownership of major brands like Sports Illustrated magazine, Champion and Nautica, as well as the licensing for the estates of celebrity legends Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and Muhammad Ali. Now, it's taking on one of Canada's biggest brands, whose global success has long been grounded in its hometown of Toronto and the city's essence and culture.
“It's the nucleus of everything. It's the thing you constantly come back to and think about: 'Does this represent us, honestly and authentically?'” Drex Jancar, CEO of OVO, told Billboard Canada in an interview celebrating his Billboard Canada Power Players Impact Award in 2025. “It's where everyone worked on their skills and put blood, sweat and tears into their career paths. We are global thinkers, but we're always coming from that place. That's our identity. It's shaped us and it's what makes us unique.”
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