Porsche will participate in a financing round of Rimac Automobili that will see the electric supercar maker raise 130 million to 150 million euros ($157 million to $181 million), Mate Rimac said.
The strategic investment should be completed in two to three months, Rimac told Automobilwoche, a sister publication of Automotive News Europe, in an interview. Rimac founded the Croatian company in 2011.
Porsche has a 15.5 percent stake in Rimac Automobili and could raise its stake to almost half in a deal that would include the transfer of Porsche's Volkswagen Group sibling, Bugatti, to the Croatian automaker, Automobilwoche said.
Porsche CEO Oliver Blume said earlier this month that intense discussions on Bugatti's future were ongoing and that Rimac Automobili could play a role as the brands were a good technological fit, adding that a decision was expected in the first half of 2021.
When asked about the deal, Rimac said that he could not provide more details.
As part of the deepening ties with Porsche, Rimac is expected to further expand its role as a supplier of electrical components to the company, which is mulling whether to add an electric super sports car in the second half of the decade.
Rimac Automobili supplies its electric supercar platform to other automakers, including Automobili Pininfarina. It also works with Aston Martin, Koenigsegg , Renault and Hyundai, which has a 14 percent stake in the company.
"The supercars have a limited market, the component market is much larger. That is why we are planning to expand our company," Rimac said.
Rimac Automobili is building a new campus near Zagreb that will include an R&D center, testing grounds, administration and production and be ready by 2023. At that time Rimac Automobili plans to have increased its workforce to 2,500 from 1,000.
