Bitcoin Miner MARA Signs $168M Deal for Exaion Stake in AI Infrastructure

• MARA signs $168M deal for 64% stake in Exaion, EDF subsidiary.

• The deal includes option to raise Exaion stake to 75% by 2027.

• Bitcoin mining difficulty has surged, pressuring miner margins.

• Exaion partners with Nvidia and Deloitte for AI and HPC services.

MARA Holdings, the largest Bitcoin miner by network hash rate and market capitalization, has signed a $168 million deal to acquire a 64% stake in Exaion. Exaion is a subsidiary of Électricité de France, one of the largest producers of low-carbon energy in the world.

The agreement gives MARA an option to increase its ownership to 75% by 2027 with an additional $127 million investment. This is contingent on Exaion meeting certain performance milestones. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter, pending necessary regulatory and corporate approvals.

MARA Expansion into AI and High-Performance Computing

Exaion specializes in developing high-performance computing data centers and providing AI and cloud infrastructure. It partners with companies including Nvidia and Deloitte, serving both enterprise and public-sector clients.

MARA stated that the acquisition positions Exaion for larger-scale international deployment.

“As data protection and energy efficiency become top priorities for both governments and enterprises, MARA and Exaion’s combined expertise would enable us to deliver secure and scalable cloud solutions built for the future of AI,” said MARA CEO Fred Thiel.

Strategic Move Amid Rising Bitcoin Mining Difficulty

This expansion comes as Bitcoin mining difficulty has been increasing sharply. Higher difficulty drives up energy usage and can reduce mining profitability unless operations adopt more efficient technology or lower-cost power sources.

MARA has been slower than some competitors in entering the AI and HPC market. Thiel explained that the company “deliberately chose not to be in the first wave” of miners expanding into these fields.

He said the approach was to invest in a partner with an established track record, rather than retrofitting existing mining facilities.

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Mining Competition and Financial Position

In July, MARA mined 703 Bitcoin, trailing competitor IREN’s record of 728 Bitcoin for the month. The lower production was likely due to fewer mining machines being operational.

Despite this, MARA’s revenue rose 64% year-on-year to $238 million in the second quarter. The company also holds 50,000 Bitcoin valued at nearly $6 billion, making it the second-largest Bitcoin treasury after Michael Saylor’s Strategy.

The acquisition of Exaion could diversify MARA’s revenue sources and provide additional operational resilience. The company plans to leverage Exaion’s infrastructure and expertise to scale in AI and high-performance computing while continuing to maintain its position as a leading Bitcoin miner.