Alcoa Corporation has entered into definitive agreements to sell portions of its Massena East site in New York to a buyer that plans to develop data center capacity there. The company disclosed the agreements in its third-quarter 2026 results, released from Pittsburgh on Oct. 15 and filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission as Exhibit 99.1 to a Form 8-K. "The transaction creates the potential for meaningful cash proceeds as approved data center capacity is developed by the buyer," the release said, putting potential proceeds at up to $315 million.
On the company's earnings call the same day, President and CEO William Oplinger described a "definitive agreement for the sale of a portion of the Massena East site with potential cash proceeds of up to $315 million," according to the call transcript.
How the payments are structured
The deal pays out in stages tied to the data center's development rather than as a single purchase price. At closing, Alcoa expects to receive approximately $50 million to $65 million, depending on the amount of approved data center capacity, according to the 8-K exhibit. The company may receive an additional approximately $60 million to $250 million for approved capacity expansions during the seven-year period following closing, with most of those proceeds expected in the first five years, the exhibit said.
Oplinger told analysts Alcoa expects to receive the remaining cash before the end of the decade, "although the agreement provides up to seven years for commissioning." The structure, he said, "gives us some cash up-front, but it will give us cash further over the next five years as that data center first gets built and then gets increased in size."
Executive Vice President and CFO Molly Beerman described how that capacity is expected to be permitted in steps. Under the permitting, she said, "initially the minimum will be 180 megawatts," followed by "two step-ups potentially, another 300 megawatts and then another 200 megawatts. So, the site could be up to 635 megawatts." The first payment at closing will be based on that initial permitting at the minimum level, Beerman said, and the final size will depend on how permitting and approvals go.
Asked whether the buyer would pursue the step-ups, Oplinger said that in his view the buyer is "very interested in putting the maximum capacity within Massena East," and that expansion will depend on demand, regulatory approvals and how much capital the buyer ultimately has.
Alcoa is not handing off the site's environmental obligations. "We will keep the remediation responsibilities," Beerman said on the call, adding that the company is selling the parts of the land where its environmental and remediation work has been completed.
The site
Massena East is an industrial site that has been idle since 2014, when Alcoa shut it down because of high operating costs and global competition, according to Manufacturing Dive. Alcoa's neighboring Massena West site is still operating, the outlet reported. The agreements cover portions of the Massena East property, not the full site.
Part of a broader asset sale program
Oplinger called the agreement "the first transaction supporting our target to generate $500 million to $1 billion from asset monetization by 2030." He indicated more sales could follow: "There are two other ones that we believe that could happen quickly after that. We've not named those publicly."
Asked whether the deal would serve as a model for future sales, Oplinger said "there is not a particular template for data center sales," explaining that maximizing value requires negotiating particular parts of the agreement for each site, though one of the two upcoming transactions may have a similar structure. Oplinger also updated analysts on Alcoa's pending acquisition of South32's bauxite, alumina and aluminum assets, which South32 shareholders have approved and which Alcoa expects to close in the first half of 2027, according to the call transcript and Manufacturing Dive.
What Happens Next
Alcoa expects the sale to close within six months of the Oct. 15 announcement. According to the 8-K exhibit, closing is subject to permitting and regulatory approvals, satisfaction of the conditions required to begin construction, and other customary closing conditions. Alcoa has not identified the buyer, the specific permits or agencies involved, or a construction schedule for the data center.
