François Garcin says MARA terminated his contract after the Exaion deal closed without paying a success commission and remaining advisory fees tied to its French expansion.
François Garcin, the executive MARA Holdings hired to lead its European expansion and help secure French approval for its acquisition of EDF’s Exaion, has sued the company in New York federal court for more than €11 million in alleged unpaid fees. Garcin’s complaint, filed in the Southern District of New York, says his June 22, 2025 contract gave him exclusive authority over “Project Nebula,” covering the Exaion purchase and planned joint ventures with French energy firms. The filing says Garcin was entitled to a €2.4 million advisory fee and a 4% success commission on MARA’s total investment in Exaion. After MARA closed the deal on February 20, 2026, paying roughly €148 million for a 64% stake, Garcin says he was owed about €5.92 million in commission plus €1 million of unpaid advisory fees. He says MARA terminated his contract on March 6 without paying those amounts and later cited a VAT dispute, an explanation he disputes because earlier invoices including French VAT had been paid for seven months. The lawsuit also sheds new light on the political sensitivity of the Exaion transaction in France. Garcin says MARA hired him to persuade French stakeholders that the company’s move into France was “not a Trojan horse,” while Gérard Mestrallet and other figures were brought in to support the effort. The filing recounts months of political opposition, a temporary February pause over national-security concerns, and a final approval that removed controversial non-compete and non-solicitation clauses while bringing Xavier Niel’s NJJ into MARA France’s capital.