FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Volkswagen unit Porsche is participating in a financing round from Rimac Automobili in which the electric supercar maker will raise 130 million – 150 million euros ($ 157 million – $ 181 million), owner Mate Rimac told weekly magazine Automobilwoche.
Fundraising should be completed in two to three months and another round is scheduled for the end of the year, Rimac told the trade magazine.
Porsche has a 15.5% stake in Rimac Automobili and could increase its stake to just under 50% in a deal that would also include the transfer of Volkswagen’s supercar brand Bugatti to Rimac, Automobilwoche said.
Volkswagen and Rimac were not immediately available for comment on Sunday.
Porsche Chief Executive Oliver Blume said earlier this month that intense discussions about Bugatti’s future are underway and that Rimac could play a role as the brands were technologically well-matched, adding that a decision was expected in the first half from 2021.
Rimac has developed an electric supercar platform that it supplies to other car manufacturers, including Automobili Pininfarina.
“Supercars have a limited market, the market for components is much larger. That’s why we plan to expand our business, ”Rimac told Automobilwoche.
That includes plans to more than double Rimac Automobili’s workforce by early 2023 to 2,500 from 1,000 currently, he said.
($ 1 = 0.8282 euros)
Reporting by Arno Schuetze; Editing by Susan Fenton