March the 19th, 2021 - Volkswagen's boss has spoken out about the information which has been circulating for months now about the alleged Rimac Bugatti purchase. Rumors have been doing the rounds for some considerable time, and speculation has been rife.

As Novac writes, rumours about an alleged Rimac Bugatti purchase, more specifically that Rimac Automobili would take over Buggati, have been flying around for a while now. The main body of these rumours was how Volkswagen could restructure the business of its entire concern by merging Rimac, Porsche and Bugatti into one unit which would work together to produce supercars. Now, for the first time since the proverbial rumour mill began operating, Volkswagen's Herbert Diess has spoken out, writes Seebiz.

He explained the fate of this reorganisation in a conversation during the annual VW press conference. Currently, Bugatti is in the phase of moving under the cap of Porsche, which will become its umbrella company. At the same time, Porsche increased its stake in Rimac Automobili from 15.5% to 24%. Both moves go in the same direction, and that is the creation of a separate unit specialising in advanced technologies and supercars that would take advantage of the synergistic effect of all those involved.

After the merger of Bugatti with Porsche, in the form of a partnership, talks will begin with Rimac, which will also be taken care of by Porsche, explained Diess, confirming that the VW group had absolutely no plans to "sell Bugatti to Rimac".

Instead, the responsibility for Bugatti will be shifted to Porsche, which could then form a joint venture with Rimac, in which Porsche will hold a minority stake. That joint venture could include Bugatti, so Rimac Automobili and Bugatti could indeed be merged.

These were roughly the expectations when the information about the merger of Bugatti Rimac with Automobili first appeared in Croatia, and now it has been officially confirmed for the first time.

The exchange of ownership shares, the transfer of control to Porsche and then the creation of a new joint venture - this is what is set to follow if Diess' plan ends up being realised. Nothing has been confirmed or agreed on yet, but now at least the direction in which Volkswagen's department for supercars and modern sports electric vehicles will develop is known.

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March the 2nd, 2021 - Croatian entrepreneur Mate Rimac keeps going from strength to strength when it comes to doing business responsibly and succeeding on the tricky investment front, going as far as to attract automotive giants like Porsche once again.

Rimac Automobili is a company that has done much more than just put Croatia on the automotive map, which is no small feat at all, but Livno-born Croatian entrepreneur Mate Rimac has shown that it is very possible to succeed and do well in Croatia if enough effort and know-how are employed.

Attracting investments left, right and centre, the always smiling protagonist of this shining Croatian business story even taught the Croatian Government a thing or two about how to attract massive investments from huge companies and as such bring the automotive industry within Croatia's borders.

As Novac writes, no less than Porsche should participate in a new round of financing for entrepreneur Mate Rimac's impressive company Rimac Automobili, in which the company should raise an additional 130 to 150 million euros, the company's founder Mate Rimac told the German publication Automobilwoche.

The funding should be completed in two to three months, and another round of funding is planned by the end of the year, entrepreneur Mate Rimac explained.

Porsche currently holds a 15.5 percent stake in Rimac Automobili, and that Porsche owned stake could increase to just under 50 percent in an agreement under which Rimac would take over Volkswagen's luxury brand Bugatti, about which we recently wrote.

Rimac Automobili, as well as Volkswagen, have not yet commented on this matter and this article will be updated as comments come out.

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Croatian entrepreneur Mate Rimac's famed company Rimac Automobili has secured an increase in investment from Porsche, seeing Porsche raise its stake in the company to 15.5 percent.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 6th of September, 2019, back in June 2018, the giant German sports car maker purchased a 10 percent stake in Rimac Automobili. Increasing Porsche's stake now strengthens their already established partnership.

As Porsche increases the range of its electrified models, the partnership they have with Rimac Automobili will leverage what Rimac's enviable expertise in vehicle electrification, including powertrains, batteries, motors and inverters means in the automotive industry.

"Porsche has been following the positive developments from Rimac for a year," stated Lutz Meschke, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board and Chief Financial Officer of Porsche AG. "It quickly became apparent to us that Porsche and Rimac could learn a lot from each other. We believe in Mate Rimac and his company, so now we've increased our stake and expanded our collaboration in battery technology."

This Croatian entrepreneur's journey from his garage to incredible global recognition is an inspiring story of success that has been achieved in less than a decade, and in a country like Croatia, which isn't known for being the land of hope and glory for budding entrepreneurs. Today, in partnership with the full spectrum of high-performance car manufacturers, his team of 600 people work alongside him to create some of the fastest and most exciting electric road vehicles in the world.

"One of the most important milestones in our history has been to win Porsche as a partner. The fact that Porsche is now increasing its stake is the best confirmation of our cooperation and the basis for an even closer relationship," said the company's founder and CEO Mate Rimac.

''We're just at the very beginning of our partnership - and our high expectations have already been fulfilled. We have many ideas that we want to bring together in the future. The key is to create a win-win situation for both partners and add value to our end customers by developing exciting electric models.''

Increasing Porsche's stake in Rimac Automobili will contribute to the rapid pace of this company's overall development, which includes a significant increase in the company's production.

In addition to designing, developing and manufacturing advanced technologies for a variety of high-performance car brands, Rimac Automobili is currently completing its C_Two car development ahead of production in 2020.

The car will undergo an intensive testing program as part of type approval for distribution across all of the world's markets.

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