MARA Considers $168M Investment in French Data Firm

MARA Holdings, a prominent Bitcoin miner, is evaluating the acquisition of a majority stake in the French data firm Exaion for $168 million, as reported by Bloomberg citing anonymous sources. If the deal proceeds, MARA will pay $168 million in cash for a 64% ownership stake from EDF Pulse Ventures. Exaion is known for operating data centers and providing cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure. While major mining companies like Core Scientific Inc. and Hut 8 Corp. concentrate on infrastructure for hyperscalers, MARA is shifting its focus to operations for AI inference, a specific subset of AI data processing that generally requires lower overhead investment. MARA could enhance its ownership in Exaion to 75% for an additional $127 million, with EDF remaining as a minority shareholder. The move comes amid an industry trend towards artificial intelligence and high-performance computing, as cryptocurrency miners aim to regain profitability following the forthcoming Bitcoin halving in April 2024. Recently, MARA adopted a Bitcoin treasury strategy, raising approximately $940.5 million to expand its Bitcoin holdings. Less than two weeks ago, the company reported a staggering over 1,000% year-on-year increase in adjusted EBITDA, earning $808.2 million in the second quarter compared to a net loss of nearly $200 million in the same quarter last year. MARA currently holds the title of the largest Bitcoin miner by market cap and the second-largest corporate Bitcoin holder, following Strategy.