BlueFive Capital acquires 30% of sports car maker Bugatti

Abu Dhabi-based alternative asset manager BlueFive Capital has acquired a 30 percent stake in Bugatti, the French sports car maker.

The stake was bought from German carmaker Porsche, making the Emirati company the second-largest shareholder after Bugatti Rimac.

No financial details were disclosed.

As part of the deal, BlueFive Capital will take a seat on the Bugatti Rimac board and have two observer seats, giving it visibility into board discussions without voting rights.

Bugatti Rimac is a hypercar company formed in 2021 through a joint venture between Porsche and Rimac Group, a Croatian automotive holding company.

“The transaction is an important step in the expansion of our private equity business in Europe,” said Hazem Ben Gacem, CEO of BlueFive Capital.

Rimac Group owns a 55 percent majority stake in Bugatti, while Porsche holds the remaining 45 percent, Bugatti said in a statement.

Porsche also holds a 21 percent stake in Rimac Group.

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In April, a consortium led by HOF Capital, including BlueFive Capital as its largest investor and other institutional investors from the US and Europe, agreed to acquire Porsche’s shareholdings in Rimac Group and Bugatti Rimac.

Porsche will receive proceeds of approximately €1 billion ($1.2 billion) from the deal, it said in a statement. Shares in Porsche are down more than 20 percent year to date.

BlueFive Capital launched an aircraft leasing platform targeting regional and international airlines in February.

The company is also entering the insurance market. It told AGBI last year that it intends to be “the most active player in that field in the months to come”, looking to capitalise on what it saw as a fractured market ripe for consolidation.