Granite Creek’s Peter Pacelli is a dealmaker to watch; PE-backed Authentic Brands builds on lifestyle IP pursuit with acquisition of OVO
Good morning, PE Hubsters! Rafael Canton filling in for MK Flynn for the US edition of the Wire from the New York newsroom.
We’ll begin the week with a profile from PE Hub’s Dealmakers to Watch series. Peter Pacelli, who leads Granite Creek Capital’s agribusiness strategy, is in the spotlight today. Pacelli was also recently promoted to managing director. We’ll look at how working in private equity and in military service put him on his path to Granite Creek.
We’ll finish with a deal. Authentic Brands Group announced last week that it acquired a majority stake in the intellectual property of October’s Very Own, a Canadian lifestyle brand co-founded by multi-platinum recording artist Drake. Authentic is backed by CVC Capital Partners, General Atlantic and Leonard Green & Partners.
Necessary change
Let’s look at the latest entry in our Dealmakers to Watch series. Peter Pacelli was in a rut, writes PE Hub’s Iris Dorbian. Just months after graduating from Yale and joining Bank of America as an analyst on its high-yield sales desk in New York City, the 2007 financial crisis engulfed Wall Street, the Chicago native was feeling disenfranchised. It was a depressing time to be working in finance. He needed a change – desperately.
The change he made started him on a path that eventually led to current employer Granite Creek Capital, where he leads an agribusiness strategy – and was recently promoted to managing director.
Pacelli found the change he needed in two outlets – private equity and military service. In 2009, he made a beeline to his beloved hometown to work as a senior associate at mid-market PE firm Wind Point Partners. At the same time, he joined the US Navy Reserve.
For Pacelli, it scratched off two items on his checklist: working in private equity and living a life with a purpose he found previously lacking.
“I just wanted to do something that was service-oriented but would also allow me to develop different kinds of new leadership skills in different directions and get out outside the New York bubble that I wouldn’t come across in my professional life,” Pacelli told Iris. “I was always interested in foreign policy and international relations. It was a great opportunity to hit all the boxes I wanted to achieve. I served with hard-working people and did interesting work along the way.”
He pursued both his lives in private equity and the Navy Reserve – as an intelligence officer – for eight years concurrently. It was intensive and demanding, a whirlwind for sure, but he made it happen.
“I would leave work on Friday and spend the weekend at the Great Lakes Naval Base supporting our command that was based in England,” recalled Pacelli. “And then I’d drive back Sunday night and be back in a Monday morning investment meeting.”
In 2012, he took a two-year career break to pursue an MBA degree from the University of Chicago. After graduation, Pacelli teamed up with a local family office and founded Victory Views, a managed services business serving the education industry. He later joined PE firm Knox Capital in 2018 as a principal.
There, he came to know the partners at future employer Granite Creek, with the firms working on a few deals together. When Granite Creek approached Pacelli with an opportunity to lead a new agribusiness strategy, he was intrigued. He joined the PE firm in 2023.
“[Our] agribusiness strategy centers on investing in operating businesses that support crop and farming efficiency,” he said. “Farmers are under pressure. We are investing in companies that are providing farms with the tools to do less. Everything we look at is through the lens: do these products improve productivity, increase yields and create efficiencies for people growing crops or raising animals?”
Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing series of profiles launched by PE Hub called Dealmakers to Watch. The series features private equity professionals as they pivot to new challenges, such as moving to a different firm, launching a new firm, getting promoted to partner, launching an investment strategy, closing a significant deal or some other new endeavor. If you’d like to see a dealmaker profiled, reach out to PE Hub editor-in-chief Mary Kathleen (MK) Flynn at mk.flynn@pei.group.
For more in the series, see these articles on PE Hub:
Authentic deal
Let’s look at a deal that caught my eye late last week. Authentic Brands Group announced that it acquired a majority stake in the intellectual property of October’s Very Own (OVO), a Canadian lifestyle brand co-founded by multi-platinum recording artist Drake. Authentic is backed by CVC Capital Partners, General Atlantic and Leonard Green & Partners.
Based in Toronto, OVO produces premium streetwear, sportswear and accessories. The brand has 12 flagship stores. Drake will retain a significant ownership stake in OVO. Much of the gear is emblazoned with an owl, the mascot of the brand.
Authentic has been active in scooping up the IP of various brands in 2026, agreeing to acquire the Care Bears franchise from IVEST Consumer Partners and Cloverlay in June. The deal closed earlier in August. In January, Authentic closed on its deal to acquire a controlling ownership stake in the IP of Los Angeles- and Italy-based fashion and accessories brand Guess. Authentic’s portfolio also includes Reebok, Brooks Brothers, and Eddie Bauer among others.
That’s it for me. If you have any questions, thoughts, or want to chat about deals in the tech, consumer or sports sectors, please email me at rafael.c@pei.group.
Tomorrow, Craig McGlashan will be with you for the Europe edition of the Wire, while Obey Martin Manayiti will write the US edition.
Cheers,
Rafael
