Rimac raises $537 million in new funding round, CEO talks potential IPO

BERLIN (Reuters) - Rimac has raised 500 million euros ($537 million) in a new funding round, it said on Wednesday, but the Croatian carmaker's chief executive cautioned sales would have to be twice as high before he would consider a stock market listing.

The new funding, led by Softbank and Goldman Sachs as well as existing shareholders including Volkswagen's Porsche unit, brings the carmaker's total valuation to over 2 billion euros, Rimac said.

Taking the step of an initial public offering would depend on revenue reaching over a billion, Rimac CEO Mate Rimac said in a media roundtable, adding the company was around halfway there.

"When we are at that number, it makes sense," he said. "When the hockey stick is flattening out a bit, when there is stability and predictability ... currently it's hard to predict what's happening next year."

The Rimac Group comprises a Bugatti-Rimac joint venture, producing electric sportscar Nevera and the Bugatti Chiron and owned 45% by Porsche AG - and a separate technology business which supplies batteries and powertrain components to other car companies.

Most of the new funding will be invested in expanding production facilities and raising volumes in the technology business, Rimac said, with the aim of reaching 100,000 batteries a year between 2024 and 2026.

The carmaker, which currently has over 1,500 staff, is looking to hire a further 700 people in 2022 and is exploring new sites for plants, Rimac said, with Italy a possible option due to high availability of qualified workers.

($1 = 0.9316 euros)

(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee and Christina Amann; Editing by Nick Zieminski)