Volkswagen's Porsche AG to raise stake in Croatia's Rimac to 24%

FRANKFURT, March 8 (Reuters) - Volkswagen's (VOWG_p.DE) luxury division Porsche AG has agreed to raise its stake in Rimac Automobili to 24%, the companies said on Monday, in a deal that values the Croatian electric hypercar maker at 795 million euros ($947 million).

Porsche AG first bought a 10% stake in Rimac in 2018, raising it to more than 15% a year later. Under the latest deal, it is buying a further 8.8% for 70 million euros.

"Rimac is excellently positioned in prototype solutions and small series," Porsche AG finance chief Lutz Meschke said in a statement. "Rimac is well on its way to becoming a Tier 1 supplier for Porsche and other manufacturers in the high-tech segment."

A 2019 Rimac C2 Hyper car, valued at $2.1million, is seen on display at the New York Auto Show in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., March 29, 2018. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

Since Porsche's first investment, Rimac's workforce has nearly doubled to 1,000 employees. It is collaborating with carmarkers including Hyundai (005380.KS), Kia (000270.KS) and Aston Martin (AML.L).

"Porsche has been a big supporter of our company since 2018, and it has always been a privilege to have one of the world's most iconic sports car brands be a part of Rimac." said Mate Rimac, the group's founder and CEO.

($1 = 0.8396 euros)

Reporting by Christoph Steitz. Editing by Mark Potter

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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