The French government has intervened in the planned acquisition of EDF’s data arm by MARA (NASDAQ: MARA) to request a deeper review of the transaction, according to a Bloomberg report.
The publication said French authorities asked EDF (Électricité de France) for a more detailed review of options regarding the sale of its unit. Previously, the French Treasury green lit the deal, but the latest intervention puts that approval on pause.
Officials cited potential sovereignty concerns regarding the deal. The government utilizes investment screening powers to monitor foreign entity investments in strategic sectors.
Matthew Sigel, Head of Digital Asset Research at VanEck, highlighted the report on Thursday. He noted the request for a deeper review likely serves as a prelude to a possible block of the deal.
MARA and EDF announced the $168 million agreement in August. The acquisition targets Exaion, a subsidiary focused on AI/HPC and cryptocurrency mining.
France has stepped up its use of investment screening in recent years.
Sigel noticed a similar move regarding satellite operator Eutelsat last week. The French Finance Ministry blocked Eutelsat from selling infrastructure assets to a private equity firm last week.
Government officials deemed those assets critical to national infrastructure. The decision signals a lower tolerance for foreign ownership of strategic technology assets.
Sigel assessed the delay as a significant hurdle for the transaction. The uncertainty adds risk to the European expansion strategy for MARA.
Shares of MARA were trading down in early morning trading hours 6%, to $7.80 per Yahoo Finance data.
