MARA Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: MARA), a digital energy and infrastructure company, and EDF Pulse Ventures, the corporate venture of EDF, one of the world’s low-carbon energy producers, announced the signing of an investment agreement allowing MARA to “acquire a 64% stake in Exaion, a subsidiary of EDF.”
The agreement provides MARA the option to “increase its ownership in Exaion up to 75% by 2027.”
Exaion develops and operates “high-performance computing (HPC) data centers and provides secure cloud and AI infrastructure in partnership with key players such as NVIDIA, Deloitte, and 2CRSI.”
Founded to provide cloud solutions, Exaion meets “the standards required by enterprise and public-sector clients.”
After completion of the transaction, MARA would “become a strategic shareholder, and Exaion would transition to a larger-scale international commercial deployment.”
By integrating Exaion’s platform, operations, and engineering expertise, MARA expects to “expand its capabilities into AI/HPC infrastructure development and better serve the growing demand for secure cloud solutions.”
As part of the transaction, EDF would remain “a client of Exaion and retain a minority interest, demonstrating its confidence in Exaion’s strategy and long-term growth prospects.”
Under the terms of the agreement, MARA would invest “approximately $168 million in cash upfront to acquire a 64% stake in Exaion, with the opportunity to invest another approximately $127 million to acquire an additional 11% of Exaion, contingent upon certain milestones being met.”
The transaction is expected to close in or around Q4 2025, “subject to satisfying conditions precedent and obtaining the relevant regulatory approvals.”
Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier is serving as “legal advisor to MARA.”
Stifel Financial Corp. is serving as “financial advisor and Coblence avocats is serving as legal advisor to Exaion.”
Ashurst is serving as legal advisor “to EDF Pulse Ventures.”
MARA deploys digital energy technologies “to advance the world’s energy systems.”
Harnessing the power of compute, MARA transforms “excess energy into digital capital, balancing the grid and accelerating the deployment of critical infrastructure.”
Building on its expertise to redefine the future of energy, MARA develops technologies that “reduce the energy demands of high-performance computing applications, from AI to the edge. Learn more at www.mara.com.”
Exaion is a subsidiary of the EDF Group, created “through its EDF Pulse Incubation program.”
The company develops “high-performance” digital services.
Aligned with EDF Group’s purpose (raison d’être), Exaion “supports businesses in their digital transformation with a responsible and sustainable approach.”
The EDF Group is a key player in the energy transition, “as an integrated energy operator engaged in all aspects of the energy business: power generation, distribution, trading, energy sales and energy services.”
The Group is a key player in low-carbon energy, “with an output of 520TWh 94% decarbonised and a carbon intensity of 30gCO2/kWh, a diverse generation mix based mainly on nuclear and renewable energy (including hydropower).”
It is investing in technologies “to support the energy transition.”
EDF’s raison d’être is to build “a net zero energy future with electricity and innovative solutions and services, to help save the planet and drive well-being and economic development.”
The Group supplies energy and services to “approximately 41.5 million customers(1) and generated consolidated sales of €118.7 billion in 2024.”
EDF Pulse Ventures identifies new activities and solutions “led by start-ups in which the EDF Group wishes to invest as part of a corporate venture capital (CVC) approach to help build a carbon-neutral future.”