Law firm advises on Rimac and Bugatti deal to form electric car tech company
Squire Patton Boggs in Birmingham has advised electric hypercar company Rimac on its tie-up with iconic French automotive brand Bugatti to create a new electric car tech company.
As part of the deal, Rimac Automobili will become a group and will be split into two separate businesses – the new hypercar business, which will be contributed to the Bugatti Rimac venture, and Rimac Technology.
Rimac Group will be the major shareholder in Bugatti Rimac holding a 55% stake, with Porsche keeping its existing 24% shareholding in the Rimac Group and acquiring a 45% stake in the new company.
Bugatti Rimac will be headquartered in Croatia and begin trading as a new combined entity from Q4 2021.
Bugatti and Rimac will both continue as separate respective brands, retaining existing production facilities and distribution channels.
The Squire Patton Boggs team advising Rimac Automobili was led by corporate partners Andrew Glaze (Birmingham) and Jost Arnsperger (Berlin), assisted by associate Shauna Halls (Birmingham), and senior associate Alina Navarro Melendo (Berlin).
Also advising were Christian Bleschke (Tax), Diarmuid Ryan and Tatiana Siakka (Competition), Sandra Mueller and Christofer Eggers (IP) and Hagen Reinsberg (Luxembourg law).
A substantial team from the Paris office, including Tony Reed, Pauline Pierce, Agata Buczek, Kevin Cosmao, Marion Cavalier and Valerie Ravit assisted by conducting legal due diligence into Bugatti.
The Squire Patton Boggs team worked closely with Rimac’s Croatian counsel Gordon Kunstek of KHS Kunstek, Halle & Simac, Zagreb.
Glaze said: “We were delighted to be chosen to represent Rimac on this transformational deal that perfectly combines our client’s expertise in the EV space with the iconic Bugatti brand. The deal played perfectly to our strengths, not least in relation to cross border M&A, but also geographically and in terms of our automotive sector expertise.”
