Drake Just Gave Up Control Of OVO, But There May Be A Bigger Play

Drake reportedly sold off most of OVO’s real estate holdings in a major deal, though the portion he still owns could complicate the transaction’s final structure.

We’re breaking down the rumors and getting straight to the facts. Let’s cook.

Drake has officially surrendered majority ownership of OVO’s intellectual property — and yes, that headline number floating around, the “$164 million deal,” has everybody talking. But the real question isn’t how big the bag is. It’s who controls the owl now.

Here’s the breakdown:

Authentic Brands Group now owns 51% of OVO’s IP. Drake still holds a strong 44% stake. And Vince Holding Corp. owns the remaining 5%, plus OVO’s operating business — retail, ecommerce, wholesale, merch, product development… the whole engine behind the brand.

Now before y’all start counting how many new cars Drake can buy, let’s clear up the money talk. That $164 million number? That’s Canadian dollars. In U.S. currency, the deal is valued at about $117.65 million. And that does not mean Drake walked away with a $117 million check. That figure represents the value of the transaction — not a direct payout to Aubrey Graham. Nobody outside the paperwork knows exactly how much he pocketed.

Still… let’s not play dumb. Drake got more money. A lot more.

But here’s the twist: Drake no longer holds majority control of OVO’s intellectual property. Authentic Brands Group does. That means the final corporate authority — the power that comes with owning more than half — now sits with them.

But culturally? That owl still flies in Drake’s orbit.

Authentic says Drake will stay heavily involved in OVO’s creative direction. And that’s where this gets interesting. Drake might’ve given up majority ownership, but he kept enough equity to benefit big if Authentic turns OVO into a global lifestyle powerhouse — the same way they’ve expanded brands connected to Jordan, Muhammad Ali, Reebok, Nautica, Champion, and more.

This company specializes in taking recognizable names and blowing them up through licensing, retail, and worldwide partnerships. So could OVO become bigger than Drake could’ve built it alone?

Absolutely — but experts say there’s risk in the move.

One thing’s clear: this isn’t selling out. Drake built OVO into something valuable enough for corporate America to drop nine figures just to get inside the nest.

Now the real story begins: Will OVO grow even bigger than Drake himself?