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Stockholders' Equity (Deficit)
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2021
Federal Home Loan Banks [Abstract]  
Stockholders' Equity (Deficit)
NOTE L – STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY/(DEFICIT)
Common Stock
On August 21, 2020, we sold an aggregate of 2,553,314 shares of our common stock and warrants to purchase up to 1,901,985 shares of our common stock. The net proceeds received from sale, after offering expenses of $0.3 million, of which $0.2 million were withheld to cover fees, were $11.2 million. The shares of common stock and warrants were sold in units, with each unit consisting of one share of common stock and a warrant to purchase up to 0.6 shares of common stock. The purchase price for each unit was $4.543. The warrants have an exercise price of $4.75 per share of common stock and are exercisable at any time during the three-year period commencing six months after issuance.
Warrants
In conjunction with the Note and Warrant Purchase Agreement related to Note 8 – Promissory note 2018 in NOTE H, we originally issued warrants to purchase an aggregate of 65,625 shares of common stock in connection with the notes that were issued. These warrants had an expiration date of July 21, 2021, an exercise price of $12.00, and were exercisable to purchase 65,625 shares of our common stock. On July 8, 2019 we entered into a Second Amendment to Note and Warrant Purchase Agreement and Warrant Modification Agreement. As a result, the lenders now hold warrants to purchase an aggregate of 196,135 shares of our common stock at an exercise price of $5.756 per share. These warrants are exercisable at any time until July 12, 2024. On August 14, 2020, this loan was modified and extended to July 12, 2021. In conjunction with the extension, the lenders received warrants to purchase an aggregate of 131,996 shares of our common stock at $4.67 per share. These warrants expire on August 14, 2023.
Included in the Restated Agreement as described in NOTE H, Note 9 – Litigation financing, during 2019, we issued a warrant allowing the lender to purchase up to 551,378 shares of our common stock at $3.99. The warrant is contingently exercisable and will become exercisable on the date on which we cease the Subject Claim for any reason other than (i) a full and final arbitral award against the Claimholder or (ii) a full and final monetary settlement of the claims or the date on which Proceeds are deposited into the Escrow Account. The warrant has a five-year life that commences on the date it becomes exercisable.
In conjunction with our sale of shares common stock and warrants on August 21, 2020 as described above, we issued warrants to purchase up to 1,901,985 shares of our common stock. The warrants have an exercise price of $4.75 
per share and are exercisable at any time during the three-year period commencing six months after the August 21, 2020 sale of our common stock, which is February 21, 2021.
Convertible Preferred Stock
On March 11, 2015, we entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) with Penelope Mining LLC (the “Investor”), and, solely with respect to certain provisions of the Purchase Agreement, Minera del Norte, S.A. de C.V. (the “Lender”). The Purchase Agreement provides for the Company to issue and sell to the Investor shares of the Company’s preferred stock in the amounts set forth in the following table (numbers have been adjusted for the February 2016 reverse stock split):​​​​​​​
 
Convertible Preferred Stock
  
Shares
 
  
Price Per Share
 
  
Total
Investment
 
       
Series
AA-1
      8,427,004      $ 12.00      $ 101,124,048  
Series
AA-2
      7,223,145      $ 6.00        43,338,870  
    
 
 
              
 
 
  
       15,650,149               $ 144,462,918  
    
 
 
              
 
 
  
​​​​​​​
The Investor’s option to purchase the Series
AA-2
shares is subject to the closing price of the Common Stock on the NASDAQ market having been greater than or equal to $15.12 per share for a period of twenty (20) consecutive business days on which the NASDAQ market is open.
The closing of the sale and issuance of shares of the Company’s preferred stock to the Investor is subject to certain conditions, including the Company’s receipt of required approvals from the Company’s stockholders, the receipt of regulatory approval, performance by the Company of its obligations under the Stock Purchase Agreement, the listing of the underlying common stock on the NASDAQ Stock Market and the Investor’s satisfaction, in its sole discretion, with the viability of certain undersea mining projects of the Company. This transaction received stockholders’ approval on June 9, 2015. Completion of the transaction requires amending the Company’s articles of incorporation to (a) effect a reverse stock split, which was done on February 19, 2016, (b) adjusting the Company’s authorized capitalization, which was also done on February 19, 2016, and (c) establishing a classified board of directors (collectively, the “Amendments”). The Amendments have been or will be set forth in certificates of amendment to the Company’s articles of incorporation filed or to be filed with the Nevada Secretary of State.
 
Series AA Convertible Preferred Stock Designation
The Purchase Agreement provides for the issuance of up to 8,427,004 shares of Series
AA-1
Convertible Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Series
AA-1
Preferred”) and 7,223,145 shares of Series
AA-2
Convertible Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Series
AA-2
Preferred”), subject to stockholder approval which was received on June 9, 2015 and satisfaction of other conditions. Significant terms and conditions of the Series AA Preferred are as follows:
Dividends
. If and when the Company declares a dividend and any other distribution (including, without limitation, in cash, in capital stock (which shall include, without limitation, any options, warrants or other rights to acquire capital stock) of the Company, then the holders of each share of Series AA Preferred Stock are entitled to receive, a dividend or distribution in an amount equal to the amount of dividend or distribution received by the holders of common stock for which such share of Series AA Preferred Stock is convertible.
Liquidation Preference
. The Liquidation Preference on each share of Series AA Preferred Stock is its Stated Value plus accretion at the rate of 8% per annum compounded on each December 31 from the date of issue of such share until the date such share is converted. For any accretion period which is less than a full year, the Liquidation Preference shall accrete in an amount to be computed on the basis of a
360-day
year of twelve
30-day
months and the actual number of days elapsed.
Voting Rights
. The holders of Series AA Preferred will be entitled to one vote for each share of common stock into which the Series AA Preferred is convertible and will be entitled to notice of meetings of stockholders.
Conversion Rights
. At any time after the Preferred Shares have been issued, any holder of shares of Series AA Preferred may convert any or all of the shares of preferred stock into one fully paid and
non-assessable
share of Common Stock.
Adjustments to Conversion Rights
. If Odyssey pays a dividend or makes a distribution on its common stock in shares of common stock, subdivides its outstanding common stock into a greater number of shares, or combines its outstanding common stock into a smaller number of shares, or if there is a reorganization, or a merger or consolidation of Odyssey with or into any other entity which results in a conversion, exchange, or cancellation of the common stock, or a sale of all or substantially all of Odyssey’s assets, then the conversion rights described above will be adjusted appropriately so that each holder of Series AA Preferred will receive the securities or other consideration the holder would have received if the holder’s Series AA Preferred had been converted before the happening of the event. The conversion price in effect from time to time is also subject to downward adjustment if we issue or sell shares of common stock for a purchase price less than the conversion price or if we issue or sell shares convertible into or exercisable for shares of common stock with a conversion price or exercise price less than the conversion price for the Series AA Preferred.
Accounting considerations
As stated above the issuance of the Series AA Convertible Preferred Stock is based on certain contingencies. No accounting treatment determination is required until these contingencies are met and the Series AA Convertible Preferred Stock has been issued. However, we have analyzed the instrument to determine the proper accounting treatment that will be necessary once the instruments have been issued.
ASC 480 generally requires liability classification for financial instruments that are certain to be redeemed, represent obligations to purchase shares of stock or represent obligations to issue a variable number of common shares. We concluded that the Series AA Preferred was not within the scope of ASC 480 because none of the three conditions for liability classification was present.
ASC 815 generally requires the analysis of embedded terms and features that have characteristics of derivatives to be evaluated for bifurcation and separate accounting in instances where their economic risks and characteristics are not clearly and closely related to the risks of the host contract. However, in order to perform this analysis, we were first required to evaluate the economic risks and characteristics of the Series AA Convertible Preferred Stock in its entirety as being either akin to equity or akin to debt. Our evaluation concluded that the Series AA Convertible Preferred Stock was more akin to an equity-like contract largely due to the fact that most of its features were participatory in nature. As a result, we concluded that the embedded conversion feature is clearly and closely related to the host equity contract and will not require bifurcation and liability classification.
 
The option to purchase the Series
AA-2
Convertible Preferred Stock was analyzed as a freestanding financial instrument and has terms and features of derivative financial instruments. However, in analyzing this instrument under applicable guidance it was determined that it is both (i) indexed to the Company’s stock and (ii) meet the conditions for equity classification.
Stock-Based Compensation
We have three stock incentive plans. The first is the 2005 Stock Incentive Plan that expired in August 2015. After the expiration of this plan, equity instruments cannot be granted but this plan will continue in effect until all outstanding awards have been exercised in full or are no longer exercisable and all equity instruments have vested or been forfeited.
On June 9, 2015, our stockholders approved our 2015 Stock Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) that was adopted by our Board of Directors (the “Board”) on January 2, 2015, which is the effective date. The plan expires on the tenth anniversary of the effective date. The Plan provides for the grant of incentive stock options,
non-qualified
stock options, restricted stock awards, restricted stock units and stock appreciation rights. This plan was initially capitalized with 450,000 shares that may be granted. The Plan is intended to comply with Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code, which stipulates that the maximum aggregate number of Shares with respect to one or more Awards that may be granted to any one person during any calendar year shall be 83,333, and the maximum aggregate amount of cash that may be paid in cash to any person during any calendar year with respect to one or more Awards payable in cash shall be $2,000,000. The original maximum number of shares that were to be used for Incentive Stock Options (“ISO”) under the Plan was 450,000. During our June 2016 stockholders meeting, the stockholders approved the addition of 200,000 incremental shares to the Plan. With respect to each grant of an ISO to a participant who is not a ten percent stockholder, the exercise price shall not be less than the fair market value of a share on the date the ISO is granted. With respect to each grant of an ISO to a participant who is a ten percent stockholder, the exercise price shall not be less than one hundred ten percent (110%) of the fair market value of a share on the date the ISO is granted. If an award is a
non-qualified
stock option (“NQSO”), the exercise price for each share shall be no less than (1) the minimum price required by applicable state law, or (2) the fair market value of a share on the date the NQSO is granted, whichever price is greatest. Any award intended to meet the performance based exception must be granted with an exercise price not less than the fair market value of a share determined as of the date of such grant.
On March 26, 2019, our Board of Directors adopted and approved the 2019 Stock Incentive Plan (the “2019 Plan”), which was approved by our stockholders on June 3, 2019. The 2019 Plan expires on June 3, 2029. The 2019 Plan provides for the grant of incentive stock options,
non-qualified
stock options, restricted stock awards, restricted stock units and stock appreciation rights. The 2019 Plan is capitalized with 800,000 shares that may be granted. No awards were made from the Plan prior to the effective date. The 2019 Plan includes the following features: no “evergreen” share reserve, prohibits liberal share recycling, no repricing permitted without stockholder approval, no stock option reload features, no transfers of awards for value and dividends and dividends equivalent shall accrue and be paid only if and to the extent the common stock underlying the award become vested or payable.
Share-based compensation expense recognized during the period is based on the value of the portion of share-based payment awards that is ultimately expected to vest. As share-based compensation expense recognized in the statement of operations is based on awards ultimately expected to vest, it can be reduced for estimated forfeitures. The ASC topic Stock Compensation requires forfeitures to be estimated at the time of grant and revised, if necessary, in subsequent periods if actual forfeitures differ from those estimates. The share-based compensation charged against income for the periods ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019 was $1,330,078, $471,121 and $756,599, respectively. The 2019 amount includes $675,000 of equity-based compensation issued from a subsidiary for director fees.
We did not grant stock options to employees or outside directors in 2021, 2020 or 2019. If options were granted, their values would be determined using the Black-Scholes-Merton option-pricing model, which values options based on the stock price at the grant date, the expected life of the option, the estimated volatility of the stock, the expected dividend payments, and the risk-free interest rate over the life of the option.
The Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing model was developed for estimating the fair value of traded options that have no vesting restrictions and are fully transferable. Because option valuation models require the use of subjective assumptions, changes in these assumptions can materially affect the fair value of the options. Our options do not have the characteristics of traded options; therefore, the option valuation models do not necessarily provide a reliable measure of the fair value of our options.
 
Additional information with respect to both plans stock option activity is as follows:
 
 
  
Number of
Shares
 
  
Weighted Average
Exercise Price
 
Outstanding at December 31, 2018
      238,651      $ 15.95  
Granted
      —        $ —    
Exercised
      —        $ —    
Cancelled
      —        $ —    
    
 
 
           
Outstanding at December 31, 2019
      238,651      $ 15.95  
Granted
      —        $ —    
Exercised
      —        $ —    
Cancelled
      —        $ —    
    
 
 
           
Outstanding at December 31, 2020
      238,651      $ 15.95  
Granted
      —      $ —  
Exercised
      —      $ —  
Cancelled
      —      $ —  
    
 
 
           
Outstanding at December 31, 2021
      238,651      $ 15.95  
    
 
 
           
Options exercisable at December 31, 2019
      238,651      $ 15.95  
    
 
 
           
Options exercisable at December 31, 2020
      238,651      $ 15.95  
    
 
 
           
Options exercisable at December 31, 2021
      238,651      $ 15.95  
    
 
 
           
The aggregate intrinsic values of options exercisable for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019 were $55,392, $98,129 and $15,564, respectively. The aggregate intrinsic values of options outstanding for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019 were $55,392, $98,129 and $15,564, respectively. The aggregate intrinsic values of options exercised during the fiscal years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019 are $0, $0 and $0, respectively, determined as of the date of the option exercise. Aggregate intrinsic value represents the positive difference between our closing stock price at the end of a respective period and the exercise price multiplied by the number of relative options. The total fair value of options vested during the fiscal years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019 was $0, $0 and $0, respectively.
As of December 31, 2021, there was no remaining amount of unrecognized compensation cost related to unvested share-based compensation awards granted to employees related to granted stock options.
The following table summarizes information about stock options outstanding at December 31, 2021:

Stock Options Outstanding
 
       
Range of Exercise Prices
  
Number of Shares
Outstanding
 
  
Weighted Average
Remaining Contractual
Life in Years
 
  
Weighted Average Exercise
Price
 
$26.40 - $26.40      75,158        2.00      $ 26.40  
$12.48 - $12.84      141,000        3.00      $ 12.48  
$2.02 - $3.59      22,493        4.65      $ 2.74  
 
   
 
 
     
 
 
     
 
 
  
       238,651        2.84      $ 15.95  
    
 
 
     
 
 
     
 
 
  
The estimated fair value of each restricted stock award is calculated using the share price at the date of the grant. A summary of the status of the restricted stock awards as of December 31, 2021 and changes during the year ended December 31, 2021 is presented as follows:
 
 
  
Number of
Shares
 
  
Weighted Average
Grant Date Fair
Value
 
Unvested at December 31, 2020
      249,391      $ 5.18  
Granted
      254,559      $ 7.05  
Vested
      (227,241 )     $ 5.62  
Cancelled
      —      $ —  
    
 
 
     
 
 
  
Unvested at December 31, 2021
      276,709      $ 6.54  
    
 
 
     
 
 
  

The fair value of restricted stock units vested during the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019 was $1,213,525, $653,653 and $0, respectively. The fair value of unvested restricted stock units remaining at the periods ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019 is $1,438,887, $1,770,676 and $132,917, respectively. The weighted-average grant date fair value of restricted stock units granted during the periods ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019 were $7.05, $4.0 and $0, respectively. The weighted-average remaining contractual term of these restricted stock units at the periods ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019 are 1.1, 2.0 and 0.8 years, respectively. As of December 31, 2021, there was a total of $1,349,419 unrecognized compensation cost related to unvested restricted stock awards.
The following table summarizes our common stock warrants outstanding at December 31, 2021:
 
Common Stock Warrants
 
  
Exercise Price
 
  
Termination Date
 
    196,135
 
 
$
 5.76   
 
 07/08/2024
 
    700,000
 
 
$
 7.16   
 
 11/02/2023
 
    551,378
 
 
$
 3.99   
 
 **
 
    131,816
 
 
$
 4.67   
 
 08/14/2023
 
 1,901,985
 
 
$
 		 4.75   
 
 02/25/2024
 
 
 
 
        
 
  
 
3,481,314
 
 
        
 
  
 
 
 
 
        
 
  

**
A five-year term commences upon the earliest occurrence of either Trigger Date A or Trigger Date B. Trigger Date A is the date on which the Claimholder ceases the Subject Claim for any reason other than (i) a full and final arbitral award against the Claimholder or (ii) a full and final monetary settlement of the claim, see NOTE H – Note 9 – Litigation financing.
Cuota Appreciation Rights
On August 4, 2017, the Company’s board of directors (the “Board”) adopted the Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. Key Employee Cuota Appreciation Rights (the “Key Employee Plan”) and the Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. Nonemployee Director Cuota Appreciation Rights (the “Director Plan” and, together with the Key Employee Plan, the “Cuota Plans”). The Cuota Plans provide for the award of cuota appreciation rights (“CARs”) to eligible participants. A “cuota” is a unit of equity interest under Panamanian law, and the value of the CARs will be determined based upon the appreciation, if any, in the value of the cuotas of Oceanica Resources, S. de R.L., a Panamanian sociedad de responsabilidad limitada (“Oceanica”), after the award of such CARs. The Company indirectly holds a majority stake in Oceanica.
The Board authorized the award of up to 750,000 CARs under the Key Employee Plan and the award of up to 600,000 CARs under the Director Plan. The terms of any CARs awarded under the Cuota Plans will be set forth in an award agreement between the Company and each participant, and the award agreement will set forth a vesting schedule for the CARs. In general, unvested CARs will be forfeited upon a participant’s separation of service from the Company, and all vested and unvested CARs will be forfeited upon a participant’s separation of service from the Company for “cause” (as defined in the Cuota Plans).
Each participant in the Cuota Plans will be entitled to be paid the value of such participant’s CARs upon the occurrence of a “payment event.” As used in the Cuota Plans, payment events consist of a change in control of the Company or the date specified in the applicable award agreement and, in the case of the Key Employee Plan, a separation of service without cause and the participant’s continuous employment with the Company until the date specified in the applicable award agreement. The value of CARs liability will be based upon the difference between the basis in the cuotas of Oceanica on the date of the award of the CARs, which is $3.00, and the fair value of the cuotas on the date used for the payment event, in each case as determined by the Board in accordance with the provisions of the Cuota Plans. The fair value of the cuota as of August 31, 2019 was $1.00. There is no active market for Oceanica’s securities, and there was no activity that would have materially changed the valuation at December 31, 2021.
At December 31, 2021, there was no liability or associated compensation cost associated with these CARs. At December 31, 2021, there were 385,580 vested CARs outstanding and there were no excercisable CARs outstanding related to the Key Employee Plan. The CARs in the Nonemployee Director Plan are utilized as compensation for services, therefore these CARs vest upon grant. At December 31, 2021, the Nonemployee Director Plan had 292,663 CARs vested and outstanding.