TAMPA, Florida–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. (NASDAQ: OMEX), a global underwater mineral exploration and development company, provided an update on the company.

“On Friday, we closed a registered direct equity offering that will allow us to continue to deleverage our balance sheet while providing capital for Odyssey’s ongoing operations over the next nine to 18 months, bringing us closer to cash flow important planned. We expect this funding will enable Odyssey to render a decision on our NAFTA arbitration and provide the cash needed to self-fund a portion of the NAFTA litigation,” said Mark Gordon, President and CEO of ‘Odyssey. “Additionally, the capital will enable targeted investments in key mining projects that will help fuel the green economy.

The financing transaction brings approximately $15.0 million in net proceeds to Odyssey and provides the following benefits:

• Ability to self-fund some NAFTA litigation expenses rather than using existing litigation funders. This $2 billion claim against Mexico under NAFTA relates to the illegal denial of an environmental permit for a subsidiary’s offshore phosphate project. Having completed hearings before the NAFTA Tribunal, Odyssey’s management is increasingly confident in the outcome of the litigation and would prefer to self-fund expenses to maximize the amount of any award to Odyssey.

• Enables a final payment of $2.5 million to settle a portion of the debt associated with our legacy businesses. As previously announced, $14.5 million in unpaid principal and accrued interest under various notes was repaid along with $9.5 million in cash and stock. The final $2.5 million (included in the total $9.5 million refund) included a conversion feature that will no longer be exercisable. Even after factoring in the price associated with this transaction, the gain is accretive to shareholders, with Odyssey getting a 34% discount on the overall $14.5 million debt repayment.

• Proceeds from the financing will also be available to repay part of the debt owed to Minera del Norte, SA de CV

• Provides operating capital to Odyssey over the next nine to 18 months. Within that time, Odyssey expects to have a decision on our +$2 billion NAFTA case. Additionally, a large cash inflow from the proceeds of a bailout deal which is currently progressing through the UK court where a favorable ruling is expected within several months. Proceeds from this contract could provide another year or more of working capital and/or further deleveraging of the company’s balance sheet.

• Enables Odyssey to provide targeted investments (Capex and Opex) in key mining projects in South America and the Pacific Islands. Mineral validation is expected in these projects within the next six to twelve months, focusing on phosphate, cobalt and nickel. These investments aim to increase the value of the assets in our mining portfolio by moving the projects up the value curve. CIC, a company in which Odyssey currently holds a minority stake, is expected to begin offshore exploration later this month, and current third-party investments in the project support a value of Odyssey’s stake in CIC at over $60. millions of dollars.

“The last time we made a recorded direct investment was 22 months ago. As expected, this transaction funded our operations through the close of the NAFTA hearing, allowed us to expand our stake in existing projects and invest in the development of new projects,” explained Gordon. . “Since this last capital increase, we have removed $12.5 million of debt from the balance sheet, increased our capital in the ExO project from 53.5% to 56.3%, increased our capital in the Lihir project from 79.9 % to 85.6%, assisted CIC in its successful exploration permit application and added two new projects to our portfolio that are in the seed stage for the offshore exploration phase. We believe this latest transaction will allow us to continue to add value to our diversified mining portfolio and deleverage our balance sheet, creating additional value for shareholders.

About Odyssey Marine Exploration Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. (Nasdaq: OMEX) is a pioneer in deep sea exploration committed to the discovery, validation and development of subsea mineral deposits in a socially and environmentally responsible manner. Odyssey’s growing project portfolio includes different sets of minerals in various jurisdictions around the world. Odyssey also provides maritime services for private clients and governments. For more details, please visit www.odysseymarine.com. A presentation to investors is available in the Investors section of the website.

Forward-looking information

Odyssey Marine Exploration believes that the information in this press release may include “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities 1934 Act. Certain factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements are discussed under “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10- K for the year ended December 31, 2021. , which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 31, 2021. Financial and operating projections and mining asset estimates are based solely on assumptions developed by Odyssey that it deems reasonable based on the information available to Odyssey as of the date of this posting. All projections and estimates are subject to substantial uncertainties and should not be considered a prediction or assurance of actual future performance. The validity and accuracy of Odyssey’s projections will depend on unforeseeable future events, many of which are beyond Odyssey’s control and, therefore, no assurance can be given that Odyssey’s assumptions will prove to be true or that its results projected will be achieved.

Cautionary Note to US Investors

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) permits mining companies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose only mineral deposits that a company can economically and legally extract or produce. We use certain terms in this press release, such as “measured”, “indicated”, “inferred” and “resources”, which SEC guidelines strictly prohibit us from including in our filings with the SEC. “Inferred Mineral Resources” involve great uncertainty as to their existence and great uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of inferred mineral resources exist, or are economically or legally mineable, and are urged to carefully review the information contained in our Form 10-K which may be obtained from from us or the SEC’s website. at http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml.