Tag Archives: Bugatti Rimac

Porsche Exits Bugatti Rimac

In the rarefied air where nine-figure hypercars are less transportation and more philosophy, tectonic shifts don’t happen with tire smoke or Nürburgring lap times. They happen in boardrooms. And this week, one of the biggest just did.

Porsche AG is stepping away from the very empire it helped build, agreeing to sell its stakes in both Bugatti Rimac and Rimac Group to a consortium led by HOF Capital. It’s the kind of move that sounds clinical on paper—equity stakes, regulatory approvals, confidential terms—but underneath it hums with the same intensity as a quad-turbocharged W-16.

To understand the magnitude, rewind to 2021. That’s when Porsche and Rimac joined forces to create Bugatti Rimac, a joint venture designed to shepherd one of the most storied names in automotive history into an electrified future. Porsche held 45 percent, Rimac the controlling 55, while also enjoying a 20.6-percent slice of Rimac Group itself. It was a carefully calibrated alliance: Stuttgart’s legacy and engineering rigor paired with the raw, electrified audacity of Mate Rimac.

Now, Porsche is cashing out entirely.

The buyers? Not a legacy automaker, but a financial syndicate—HOF Capital at the helm, backed by BlueFive Capital and a slate of institutional investors spanning the U.S. and Europe. Once the ink dries and regulators give their blessing—expected before the end of 2026—Rimac Group will tighten its grip on Bugatti Rimac, while HOF Capital steps in as a major shareholder alongside Rimac himself.

If that sounds like a changing of the guard, that’s because it is.

Porsche CEO Michael Leiters frames the decision as focus: a return to core business, a strategic narrowing of scope in an industry increasingly defined by costly transitions. It’s a pragmatic exit, but also a telling one. Porsche didn’t just invest in Rimac—it legitimized it, helping transform a Croatian startup into a bona fide Tier-1 technology player.

And yet, the student is now very much the master.

For Mate Rimac, this is less an ending than an acceleration. With fewer cooks in the kitchen and fresh capital at his back, the path clears for a more singular vision—one that doesn’t have to reconcile the competing priorities of a legacy OEM shareholder. His statement reads like a founder finally handed the keys to his own creation, ready to push harder and move faster.

The wildcard, of course, is the new money. Investment firms aren’t known for sentimental attachment, but both HOF Capital and BlueFive Capital are striking a tone that leans more Pebble Beach than private equity. They speak of heritage, craftsmanship, and legacy—language that suggests Bugatti’s future won’t be reduced to quarterly returns and spreadsheet efficiencies.

Still, the balancing act will be delicate. Bugatti isn’t just another brand; it’s an altar to excess, a rolling expression of engineering maximalism. Keeping that spirit alive while scaling Rimac’s technology ambitions is the kind of challenge that doesn’t come with a blueprint.

But if there’s anyone suited to the task, it’s the guy who once turned an electrified BMW E30 into a global calling card.

The broader takeaway? The hypercar world is evolving—not just in what powers the cars, but in who powers the companies behind them. As Porsche retreats to its core and financial players move in, the lines between passion project and portfolio asset blur a little more.

And somewhere in Croatia, the future of Bugatti is being rewritten—not with a signature exhaust note, but with the quiet, relentless whir of electric ambition.

Source: Bugatti

A Billion-Euro Question: Who Buys Porsche’s Share of Bugatti Rimac?

In the rarified air where nine-figure hypercars meet nine-figure balance sheets, ownership can be just as transient as a Nürburgring lap record. The latest example comes from the Bugatti Rimac joint venture, where Porsche’s sizable stake may soon be looking for a new garage.

According to new reports, a venture capital fund co-founded by a descendant of Egypt’s billionaire Sawiris family is part of a group in talks to acquire Porsche’s share of Bugatti Rimac. If the deal goes through, it would mark yet another chapter in one of the most intricate alliances in modern automotive history.

Bugatti and Rimac officially joined forces in 2021, creating a marriage between a century-old French luxury icon and a Croatian electric-hypercar disruptor. Back then, the ownership chart looked like a particularly messy pit board: Mate Rimac held 37 percent of the Rimac Group, Porsche owned 24 percent, Hyundai controlled 12 percent, and the remaining 27 percent was split among various other investors. Fast-forward to today, and the structure has been simplified—but only slightly. The Rimac Group now owns 55 percent of Bugatti Rimac, while Porsche retains the remaining 45 percent.

That 45 percent is now the prize.

Bloomberg reports that HOF Capital, co-founded by a member of the Sawiris dynasty, along with private equity firm BlueFive Capital, is negotiating to acquire Porsche’s stake. The transaction could value Bugatti Rimac north of €1 billion (about $1.2 billion), and HOF is also said to be considering an additional capital injection into the Rimac Group to fuel future expansion.

None of the parties involved—Porsche, HOF Capital, or BlueFive—have publicly commented on the report. Rimac, however, has acknowledged that discussions with Porsche are ongoing regarding the venture’s future ownership structure, emphasizing that no agreement has yet been reached. It remains unclear whether Mate Rimac himself is directly involved in the current bid, though he has previously expressed interest in partnering with investors to buy Porsche out.

If that sounds familiar, it’s because Rimac has been unusually candid about the downsides of complex corporate arrangements. Earlier this year, he openly vented about the difficulty of running a company with too many stakeholders pulling in different directions.

“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,” Rimac said. “When you negotiate with a corporation, there are so many factors. It’s families, it’s multiple families. It’s an emotional topic.”

For a company tasked with building multimillion-dollar hybrid hypercars and shaping Bugatti’s post–internal-combustion future, emotional topics may be unavoidable—but simplicity has its appeal. Whether this potential deal delivers that simplicity, or just rearranges the logos on the letterhead, remains to be seen.

One thing is certain: in the hypercar world, the fastest-moving parts aren’t always the cars.

Source: Bloomberg