Croatian Rimac is considering buying Porsche's 45 percent stake in Bugatti Rimac. This would give the Croatians full control of Bugatti.
Rimac has reportedly offered Porsche a huge sum of money to relinquish control of Bugatti.
The joint venture was established a few years ago. Porsche owns 45 percent of Bugatti Rimac.
Rimac Group, headquartered in Croatia, already owns 55 percent of Bugatti Rimac. Porsche owns the remaining 45 percent. That partnership was formed back in 2021.
Now, unnamed sources are reporting that Rimac wants to take over Porsche's ownership stake. This would give Rimac full control of the legendary French car brand Bugatti.
Bloomberg writes.
The details of Rimac's bid are still unknown, but sources say Porsche's stake was previously valued at over one billion euros, which is equivalent to more than 7.5 billion Danish kroner.
Rimac may join forces with other investors to finance the purchase. Negotiations are said to be at an early stage. Rimac has not yet commented publicly on the rumors.
The dynamic changes in the Bugatti Rimac
The potential acquisition marks a notable shift. There have been previous reports to the contrary. Porsche reportedly attempted to buy out Rimac after its establishment in 2021.
But times have changed for Porsche. The German carmaker is facing several challenges. Demand for Porsche's electric cars is declining.
Sales in China have also declined significantly for Porsche, and they are also struggling with supply chain disruptions. This may have made Porsche more open to selling its stake.
Mate Rimac remains the largest shareholder in Rimac Group. The company raised significant investments in 2022.
A total of 500 million euros was raised. This came from, among others, Goldman Sachs Asset Management and SoftBank Vision Fund 2.
Bugatti's future with electrification
If Rimac succeeds in buying Porsche's stake, they will gain full control of Bugatti. Rimac has already played a central role in the development of Bugatti's latest hypercar, the Tourbillon.
The Tourbillon is a hybrid car. But with full control, Rimac can theoretically steer Bugatti's future direction. This also applies to future models after the Tourbillon.
This could mean a stronger focus on electrification. Future Bugatti models could use Rimac's advanced battery packs and electric motors.
The technology is known from the Croatians' own hypercar, the Nevera. But Bugatti's decision to ditch the combustion engine under new ownership is not going to happen either. The boss of the whole thing has already promised that.
In fact, it was Mate Rimac who persuaded Volkswagen management not to make an electric car out of Bugatti.
– I fought fiercely against the management at Porsche and Volkswagen. It became really heated discussions that the next Bugatti should not be an electric car. And I think it's the right decision, he said in August 2022.
The new development is being closely followed in the automotive world. A sale would mark a new era for both Bugatti and Rimac.
If you want to know more about the extreme technology in Rimac's cars, you can read about the wild Rimac Nevera here on Boosted.dk. We've also written about Bugatti's new Tourbillon.
And Mate Rimac, the man behind it all, is a true car enthusiast. He's also not shy about admitting that his customers no longer want expensive electric cars. Read more about it here .
