Shares of Odyssey Marine Exploration skyrocketed Wednesday following the company’s disclosure of a strategic merger with American Ocean Minerals Corporation, establishing a deep-sea critical minerals enterprise with an estimated $1 billion valuation.
The announcement, made prior to Wednesday’s market opening, propelled OMEX shares upward by more than 82% during the trading session. Market activity surged dramatically — exceeding 85 million shares traded, a massive increase compared to the typical three-month average daily volume of approximately 3.4 million shares.
The newly merged organization will adopt the American Ocean Minerals Corporation identity and is slated for Nasdaq listing under the “AOMC” ticker symbol.
Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc., OMEX
This strategic combination unites OMEX’s extensive three-decade track record in offshore operations with AOMC’s substantial capital resources and diversified international asset holdings. AOMC has obtained exploration licenses spanning more than 500,000 square kilometers of promising deep-sea territories, rich in polymetallic nodules containing valuable elements including nickel, cobalt, copper, and manganese.
The merged entity’s resource base encompasses two of the three authorized exploration zones within the Cook Islands’ exclusive economic zone, alongside exploration permit applications filed under the United States Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act, representing over 1.4 billion tonnes of estimated resources.
The agreement follows an all-stock transaction structure. Before finalization, OMEX will implement a 1-for-25 reverse stock split. The total number of outstanding shares at closing is projected to reach approximately 921 million.
The merger incorporates more than $150 million in fresh private placement capital from institutional and strategic backers, supplemented by $75 million in pre-IPO funding that AOMC successfully closed in February. The aggregate equity capital mobilized exceeds $230 million, positioning the merged organization with projected cash holdings surpassing $175 million upon completion.
Ahead of the transaction’s finalization, OMEX intends to sell its PHOSAGMEX Mexican phosphate operation. This divestiture is anticipated to eliminate roughly $60 million in outstanding liabilities from the corporate balance sheet.
Shareholders representing approximately 30% of OMEX’s issued shares have already executed voting support commitments endorsing the proposed transaction.
The consolidated enterprise will be guided by Chairman Tom Albanese, previously serving as CEO of Rio Tinto, with Mark Justh assuming the CEO position, bringing experience from executive positions at JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs. Mike Rowe, creator of the mikeroweWORKS foundation, participates as a founding investor and special advisor.
Both corporate boards have granted unanimous approval for the transaction. Regulatory clearances and stockholder ratification remain outstanding prerequisites before completion, with closing targeted for the latter portion of Q2 or beginning of Q3 2026.
TipRanks’ AI analyst Spark previously assigned OMEX a Neutral rating with a price objective of 80 cents, citing concerns regarding financial performance and negative technical momentum indicators. Heading into Wednesday’s session, OMEX had declined 57.58% year-to-date, though showing gains of 154.28% over the trailing twelve-month period.
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