Germany's Porsche sells remaining stake in Bugatti

German carmaker Porsche is withdrawing from the luxury sports car manufacturer Bugatti.

Its 45% stake in the Bugatti Rimac joint venture is being sold to a consortium led by the private equity firm HOF Capital, the parties announced on Friday. Approval from the relevant authorities is still pending.

As part of the move, Porsche is also divesting its stake in the Rimac Group. It recently held 20.6% of the Croatian electric sports car specialist.

The consortium set to acquire the stake includes BlueFive Capital from Abu Dhabi as the largest investor, as well as institutional investors from the US and the EU.

Porsche, Rimac and the buyer group did not comment on the purchase price.

This means the VW Group is exiting Bugatti entirely. Volkswagen acquired the rights to the prestigious French luxury brand in 1998 and revived it.

In 2021, the group ceded a majority stake to the joint venture. The VW subsidiary Porsche had held a stake in Rimac since 2018.

The new Porsche chief executive, Michael Leiters, announced a comprehensive restructuring of the crisis-hit sports car and SUV manufacturer back in March. He said selling the stake in Bugatti demonstrates the intention to focus Porsche on its core business.

Porsche has been in troubled waters for some time. Business in China has stalled, US tariff policies cost a great deal of money, and Porsche’s electric models have proved less popular than expected.

The company has shifted its strategy with a renewed focus on combustion engine vehicles, at a cost of around €2.4 billion ($2.8 billion).