The French Treasury has authorized MARA’s 64% controlling stake in Exaion, the data center arm of France’s national electric company, Électricité de France (EDF), as first reported by French market intelligence provider The Big Whale.
According to an authorization letter viewed by The Big Whale, the Treasury not only green lit the acquisition, but it also did not challenge a non-compete clause in MARA’s contract with Exaion. Specifically, this clause would prevent the EDF from engaging in any HPC, AI, and bitcoin mining operations for two years after the deal’s close, except for providing electricity to such operations.
Per MARA’s contract with Exaion, the non-compete allows EDF to develop AI/HPC operations for internal uses, but it bars the organization from developing them for commercial purposes or investing in companies offering such services.
Speaking to The Big Whale, a source close to the matter believes that MARA capitalized on information asymmetry and the ignorance of French officials, likening the maneuver to a corporate turkey shoot.
“It’s open season for the Americans,” a source told The Big Whale’s Grégory Raymond. (All quotes translated from French to English via ChatGPT).
“MARA’s luck is that nobody really understands what’s going on. Exaion isn’t the strategic issue — the [non-compete] clause is,” the source continued.
Blockspace reached out to MARA for comment but did not hear back by publication time.
MARA first announced the acquisition in August of 2025, offering to pay $168 million for a 64% stake in Exaion, with an option to expand the stake to 75% for an additional $127 million by 2027.
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The Big Whale’s reporting is the first indication that French officials have approved the acquisition. Blockspace asked MARA when the deal is expected to close but did not hear back before publication.
MARA’s acquisition of its controlling stake in Exaion is contingent on“maintaining industrial capacity in France, protecting data, ensuring continuity of services provided to EDF, and granting the administration increased oversight of the company’s governance and strategy,” as reported by The Big Whale.
The Big Whale noted that officials in France are starting to wake up to the potential of bitcoin mining to monetize stranded energy. France derives 70% of its electricity from nuclear, so much so that it has become Europe’s largest energy exporter.
France produces so much electricity, The Big Whale highlights, that it faces negative prices during extreme surfeits. In a letter to the President of France’s Court of Auditors last December, EDF CEO Bernard Fontana warned of the downsides of this overproduction.
Still, one of The Big Whale’s sources said that some might not view bitcoin mining as a favorable solution to soak up this excess production.
“We talk about mining as a flexibility tool that will become major in the coming years, but today everyone treats it with contempt,” the source said.
Header image by Francis Chanteloup (EDF).
