Inside France’s strict conditions for selling $168 million stake of its state-owned energy cloud to U.S. bitcoin miner
France approved the sale of a majority stake in EDF's Exaion unit to U.S. bitcoin miner MARA, imposing conditions to protect national interests.Summary
The French government has approved the $168 million sale of a 64% stake in Exaion, a data center subsidiary of state-owned Electricité de France (EDF), to U.S. bitcoin miner MARA Holdings Inc., following a national security review. To address concerns over foreign control of digital infrastructure, strict conditions were imposed. These include NJJ Capital, controlled by Xavier Niel, acquiring a 10% stake in the local acquisition entity, Mara France, and EDF retaining a minority stake while remaining a client. Finance Minister Roland Lescure stated the outcome confirms France's openness to international investment while protecting strategic interests and technological sovereignty, adding that no sensitive EDF data will remain with Exaion post-sale. The board of Exaion will now feature representatives from MARA, EDF, and NJJ.
(Source：CoinDesk)