It’s only been four years since Rimac Group and Porsche joined forces to create Bugatti Rimac, but apparently, CEO Mate Rimac is already tired of the bureaucracy. Rimac is itching to take control of the joint venture and is in negotiations to buy out Porsche’s stake in the company.
Mate told Bloomberg in a recent interview, syndicated by Automotive News, that he has the investors necessary to take complete control of the joint venture, capable of buying Porsche’s 45-percent stake in the tie-up. Mate allegedly offered the German automaker around €1 billion ($1.2 billion at today’s exchange rate) for its share in April.
Mate wants more control so he can have more freedom, and the negotiations haven’t been secret. He told the publication:
‘I just want to be able to make long-term decisions, to make long-term investments, and to do things in a different way, without having to explain to 50 people.’
Photo by: Bugatti
Buying Porsche’s stake would give Rimac Group complete control of Bugatti Rimac, but Porsche’s influence would remain. The German automaker has a 22 percent stake in Rimac Group, which it shares with Mate (35 percent), Hyundai Motor Group (11 percent), and other investors (32 percent).
Mate told the publication that the deal could happen by next year, but added there are “so many factors” when negotiating. It also doesn’t help that the Porsche-Piëch family still has a stake in Porsche. “It’s an emotional topic,” he added.
Porsche is facing its own hurdles right now. CEO Oliver Blume warned employees this past summer that the company’s current business model, “which has served us well for many decades, no longer works in its current form.”
Photo by: Rimac
The automaker is facing stiff competition in China, compounded by declining consumer interest in its electric vehicles. It’s a precarious predicament exasperated by tariffs and regulatory uncertainty.
If the deal goes through, we might see some bigger changes at Bugatti Rimac and the products it makes. Mate founded Rimac in 2009, revealing the Concept_One just two years later. It’d begin building the electric Nevera supercar in 2022.