German sports car maker Porsche AG, a division of the Volkswagen Group, announced on Monday that it will increase its stake in Rimac Automobili, in a transaction that estimates the value of the Croatian electric car manufacturer at 795 million euros, informs Reuters.
Porsche bought a first 10% stake in Rimac in 2018 and, a year later, increased its ownership to 15%. In a statement issued on Monday, Porsche said it would invest 70 million euros in a capital increase organized by Rimac, so that its stake will increase from 15% to 24%.
“Our investments in Rimac have proven to be absolutely fair. The company has developed very well technologically. We have expanded our cooperation step by step,” said Porsche CFO Lutz Meschke, according to Agerpres.
Rimac, a company known for its electric hypercars with up to 2,000 horsepower, has gradually expanded its engineering operations and supplies to high-tech components for electric vehicles. The company, based near Zagreb, was established in 2009 and has since doubled its staff to 1,000. Rimac works with other car manufacturers such as Hyundai, Kia and Aston Martin.
Analysts believe that increasing Porsche’s stake in Rimac could pave the way for parent group Volkswagen AG to sell its Bugatti luxury car division to the Croatian automaker. Bugatti, a company that produces luxury models priced at up to $5.8 million, last year sold only about 80 vehicles and its models of up to 1,500 horsepower are increasingly different from the plans Volkswagen aiming to electrify its range of models.