XML 68 R13.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v2.4.1.9
Commitments and Contingencies
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2015
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies

NOTE H – COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Legal Proceedings

The Company may be subject to a variety of claims and suits that arise from time to time in the ordinary course of business. We are currently not a party to any pending litigation.

Going Concern Consideration

We have experienced several years of net losses and may continue to do so. Our capacity to generate net income or positive cash flows for the remainder of 2015 or the following twelve months is dependent upon our success in recovering and monetizing shipwrecks, monetizing our interests in mineral exploration entities and recovered cargo, generating income from shipwreck or mineral exploration charters, collecting on amounts owed to us, generating income from other project or asset based financing, and completing the MINOSA/Penelope financing transaction. We can offer no assurance any of our planned projects will be successful in providing additional cash during 2015. We have been the target of repeated attacks by third parties seeking to drive down our stock price. These attacks are primarily organized by certain short-sellers seeking to distort the truth and thereby profit from the decline of our company’s share price (“short and distort”). These attacks have taken the form of public false statements, misrepresentations, and scare tactics in unregulated internet media channels, as well as direct and indirect attempts to disrupt our business by seeking to negatively influence our business partners and business ventures. These attacks have had a consequence on our share price, on our various business deals, and on our ability to secure certain financing alternatives. We received a letter from NASDAQ on March 9, 2015 stating that the Company’s closing bid price on the NASDAQ Capital Market had not maintained a minimum bid price of $1.00 for 30 consecutive business days and that the Company now has 180 calendar days to cure the situation. The Company may be eligible for more than 180 days to cure the situation, but if the situation is not cured then the Company’s shares could be de-listed from the exchange. Our 2015 business plan requires us to generate new cash inflows during 2015 to effectively allow us to perform our planned projects. We plan to generate new cash inflows through the monetization of shipwreck cargo and/or our equity stakes in seabed mineral companies, financings, syndications or other partnership opportunities. One or more of the planned shipwreck or mining project monetizations, financings, syndications or partnership opportunities may not be realized to the extent needed which may require us to curtail our desired business plan until we generate additional cash. On March 11, 2015, we entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement with Minera del Norte S.A. de c.v. (“MINOSA”) and Penelope Mining LLC, an affiliate of MINOSA (“Penelope”), pursuant to which (a) MINOSA agreed to extend short-term, debt financing to Odyssey of up to $14.75 million, and (b) Penelope agreed to invest up to $101 million over three years in convertible preferred stock of Odyssey. The debt and the equity financings are subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including the approval of our stockholders, and MINOSA and Penelope are currently under no obligation to provide the additional loan amounts, make the Preferred share equity investments, or exercise their call option on our Oceanica shares. (See Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—General Discussion 2014—Financings.) If our stockholders do not approve the transaction, we will likely have to seek debt or equity financing from other sources to allow us to continue as a going concern. If cash inflow is not sufficient to meet our desired projected business plan requirements, we will be required to follow our contingency business plan which is based on curtailed expenses and requires less cash inflows. Our consolidated non-restricted cash balance at March 31, 2015 was $0.7 million which is insufficient to support operations through the end of 2015. We have a working capital deficit at March 31, 2015 of $13.5 million. We have a bank loan of $7.7 million that matures in 2015. Even though our total assets on our consolidated balance sheet are $21.1 million, the majority of these assets are secured as collateral against our loans and the related fair market value of these assets may differ from their net carrying book value. Even though we executed the above noted financing arrangement, we must obtain stockholder approval and Penelope must purchase the shares for us to be able to complete the equity component of the transaction. Therefore, the factors noted above raise doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. These consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments to the amounts and classification of assets and liabilities that may be necessary should we be unable to continue as a going concern.