OWL Ventures


 * OWL Ventures, Ltd. (simply known as OWL Ventures) is an privately held Canadian holding company and venture firm.

Founded originally as the holding company for the Battersea Group, an British-American media and entertainment company, which would remain the company's sole asset for its good portion of its existence, OWL would expand, following the Styhon-Battersea merger, which saw the company invest in new businesses.

The company is based at the OWL Ventures Centre (formerly the Rogers Building) in Toronto, with secondary headquarters located at the OWL Ventures Campus in Brampton and is owned by and acts as the personal holding and investment company for American-British-Canadian media and entertainment executive Oliver Watson, which the company is named after, Oliver Watson Limited.

Among its assets include American entertainment company OWL Content Studios, which owns a 50% stake in All3Media, OWL Media, which operates Canadian media company Global Media, and a 6% stake in Styhon Battersea, OWL Telecom, which operates Hoot, a telecom company formed from the purchase of Vodafone Ireland and Telenor Bulgaria, and OWL Sports, which owns a 75% stake in Canadian professional sports company Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, and a stake in the San Francisco Giants, an American baseball team.

Background
Oliver took a liking to the media and later, the entertainment industry, at a young age. This interest later led Watson to form OWL Ventures, his holding company and the founding of the British-American media and entertainment company. the Battersea Group, which before its merger with Styhon Entertainment, was the only asset owned by OWL. Watson served as the company's head throughout its existence.

Later on, Oliver felt the need to expand his own business, something he felt Battersea didn't allow him to do. He later met Finnish businessperson Kasperi Salovaara, who recently purchased Styhon Entertainment, and who also worked in the music industry, via the ownership of Zoop Music Entertainment. Oliver and Kasperi became friends and business partners, and they begin to discuss business, and latter merger opportunities for their respective companies, which would later occur with the Styhon-Battersea merger.

Shortly after the merger, OWL transitioned into a venture firm and would move to Canada, where Watson pursued and got a citizenship, in the same manner he received a citizenship from the UK, thanks to the billions OWL received and would invest in from the merger. As such, Watson would own a 6% stake in the newly merged Styhon Battersea. Watson's position at SB would later be limited to an top advisory role, in order to devote more time and efforts into OWL, while Kasperi would later join OWL's management team, and became a vital part of the company, by co-spearheading many of the company's moves into different businesses and industries with Watson. OWL would also invest in and back Kasperi's own venture firm, Vuori. Oliver later gained a executive position at Vuori.

Company management
The company is owned by Oliver Watson, he is the founder, president and CEO of the company. Kasperi Salovaara of Vuori also holds a executive position in the company.

List of assets owned by OWL Ventures
See: List of assets owned by OWL Ventures.