MARA Holdings Makes Power Play: Bitcoin Miner Snaps Up 64% of EDF’s Exaion in Bold Energy Gambit

Bitcoin mining just got a jolt of French nuclear energy—literally.

MARA Holdings, the publicly traded mining juggernaut, just acquired a controlling 64% stake in Exaion from energy giant EDF. The move signals miners' relentless hunt for cheap, reliable power—even if it means cozying up to legacy energy dinosaurs.

Strategic power grab or desperate hedging? With Bitcoin's hash rate hitting record highs, miners are turning into energy arbitrage experts overnight. Exaion's nuclear-powered data centers give MARA a regulatory moat in Europe—where politicians still think proof-of-work is a tax evasion scheme.

One hedge fund analyst quipped: 'When your business burns more energy than Portugal, you either buy the power plant or become a climate villain.' MARA chose option one.

In brief

• MARA Holdings is negotiating the acquisition of 64% of Exaion for 168 million dollars in cash.
• The French company develops data centers and provides cloud and AI infrastructures.
• MARA could increase its stake to 75% with an additional 127 million investment.
• This strategy differs from its competitors who focus on the ‘hyperscalers’.

Bitcoin mining giant MARA invests in France

According to information published this Monday by Bloomberg, the American MARA Holdings, a specialist in bitcoin mining, plans to spend 168 million dollars to acquire 64% of Exaion from EDF Pulse Ventures.

The MARA Holdings operation marks a bold strategic choice, placing the American miner on a different trajectory than its main competitors.

Where Core Scientific Inc. and Hut 8 Corp. rely on partnerships with cloud giants, the so-called hyperscalers, MARA takes another path: artificial intelligence inference. 

This specialization in AI data processing, focused on running pre-trained models, attracts interest due to its low investment cost and high profitability prospects. In a context where AI demand is exploding, this positioning could give MARA a lasting competitive advantage.

The transaction also includes an extension option: MARA could increase its stake to 75% by investing an additional 127 million dollars. 

EDF WOULD in any case retain a minority stake, ensuring a strong French presence and valuable local expertise within the data and cloud ecosystem.

Perfect timing in a favorable context

This operation occurs in a particularly favorable context for MARA Holdings. Indeed, the company recently announced spectacular financial results, with a jump of over 1,000% in its adjusted EBITDA year-over-year. 

Recall that EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) measures a company’s operational performance before considering financial, tax, and amortization expenses — a key profitability indicator.

In the second quarter of 2024, MARA thus generated 808.2 million dollars in profits, compared to a net loss of nearly 200 million a year earlier.

Simultaneously, MARA pursues an aggressively offensive Bitcoin strategy. The company recently raised 940.5 million dollars exclusively for BTC acquisition. This initiative follows the July announcement of a one billion dollar fundraising project via zero-rate convertible notes, further strengthening its buying capacity.

More broadly, the mining sector has seen a real rebound since the Bitcoin halving in April 2024. Market leaders are diversifying their activities towards growth segments such as AI and high-performance computing to smooth revenues and increase profitability.

For MARA, this structural transformation opens the way to new growth drivers, fully exploitable thanks to its already deployed large-scale infrastructures.

A strengthened leadership position

MARA Holdings already rules the industry as the largest bitcoin miner by market capitalization. With nearly 50,000 BTC in reserve, it ranks second worldwide among institutional holders, just behind Strategy.

The planned acquisition in France fully aligns with the group’s strategic vision: diversify revenue sources while optimizing the use of existing technology infrastructures. 

Exaion’s expertise in data centers and artificial intelligence could generate powerful synergies with MARA’s already massive computing capabilities.

In sum, beyond a simple investment, this alliance has the potential to redefine industry standards by creating a new generation of hybrid miners, capable both of optimizing Bitcoin mining and meeting the growing market needs for AI and cloud.

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