In a move many have been watching for, a billion-dollar deep-sea mining deal has been made: American Ocean Minerals and Odyssey Marine Exploration have agreed to merge and create a U.S.-based deep‑sea minerals company.
The combined firm will keep the American Ocean Minerals name. The transaction is still pending shareholder and regulatory approvals.
The companies say the combined platform will focus on developing and harvesting deep‑ocean mineral resources. AOMC brings exploration rights in what it describes as one of the world’s most competitive seabed regions, along with partnerships that allow it to operate with a lighter physical footprint, including retrofitted vessels and established offshore technologies.
Odyssey is bringing in its public-company structure, intellectual property portfolio, and offshore project experience.
The new company will be led by chairman Tom Albanese, former CEO of Rio Tinto, and CEO Mark Justh, a former JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs executive. Media figure and mikeroweWORKS founder Mike Rowe will serve as a special advisor.
Justh said the merger comes at a moment when “regulatory clarity” and “accelerating demand for critical minerals” are aligning. Odyssey CEO Mark Gordon said the deal builds on the company’s long history in offshore operations and positions the combined group to advance its mineral assets.
The company will significantly invest in technical studies, environmental assessments, vessel construction and retrofits, processing facilities, and supporting infrastructure in the coming 10 years, it said, to hopefully develop AOMC’s resource base and deliver returns to shareholders and partner nations, including the Cook Islands and the United States.
Source: odysseymarine.com