• Inside France’s strict rules for selling majority stake of its state energy cloud to U.S. • bitcoin miner The French government imposed conditions, including a 10% stake by NJJ Capital, to address national interest concerns. • What to know: MARA Holdings acquired a 64% stake in Exaion, a high-performance computing infrastructure subsidiary of EDF, for $168 million. • The French government imposed conditions, including a 10% stake for NJJ Capital, to address national-interest concerns. • The deal required a French investor to step in, which was NJJ, and EDF will keep a minority stake and continue as an Exaion client. • France has approved the sale of a majority stake in a key data center unit of state-owned Electricité de France (EDF) to U.S.-based bitcoin miner MARA Holdings Inc., after months of national security review.
Article Summaries:
- France has approved the sale of a 64 % stake in Exaion, a high‑performance computing subsidiary of state‑owned EDF, to U.S. bitcoin miner MARA Holdings for $168 million. The deal, first announced in August 2025, followed a national‑security review that raised concerns about foreign control of digital infrastructure. To address these, the French government required a French investor to participate; telecom billionaire Xavier Niel’s NJJ Capital will hold a 10 % stake in the local entity, while EDF retains a minority share and remains an Exaion client. Finance Minister Roland Lescure said the approval demonstrates France’s openness to investment while safeguarding strategic interests.
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