Valor Energy Inc. announced Monday that it has raised about $5 million in a private stock placement to help buy and convert a computing center in Youngstown into an artificial intelligence data center, putting new money behind a Logan Avenue property that already has the power hookup such a facility needs.
The company said it agreed on October 19 to sell 2,145,923 shares of its common stock at $2.33 per share to a group of investors, for gross proceeds of approximately $5.0 million before offering expenses. The shares were sold in a private placement and have not been registered under federal securities law.
The largest piece of the plan is the Youngstown acquisition itself. Valor intends to use about $3.6 million of the proceeds, subject to adjustment, to buy all of the equity interests in the company that holds the computing center at 1911 Logan Avenue. The site carries 18 megavolt-amperes of power capacity under an existing 23-kilovolt interconnection with Ohio Edison.
If the purchase closes, the roughly 30,890-square-foot building would be converted into an AI data center designed for artificial intelligence and high-performance computing workloads. The remaining proceeds would fund design, construction, equipment and permitting work, along with business development and general working capital.
Power is the scarce ingredient in the current data center build-out, and Valor’s stated strategy is to acquire existing sites that already have power infrastructure rather than starting from raw land. A building with an established utility interconnection can, in principle, move faster than a greenfield project that must wait in line for new service.
The company was candid that none of this is guaranteed. Completion of the acquisition remains subject to due diligence and other closing conditions, and Valor said there can be no assurance the deal will be completed on the terms described, or at all. Further details were filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in a Form 8-K on October 23.
“We intend to use the proceeds from this financing primarily toward the proposed Youngstown acquisition and the initial stages of its planned conversion into an AI data center,” said Dave Nichols, a strategic advisor to the company, adding that the firm appreciates its investors’ support as it pursues the plan.
Valor Energy, which trades on Nasdaq under the symbol VAI, historically operated automobile transaction and related services businesses and is now pursuing digital infrastructure and energy opportunities. For Youngstown, the next steps to watch are the closing of the Logan Avenue purchase and the first permitting and construction filings for the conversion.