Odyssey to merge with ex-Rio Tinto CEO’s deep-sea mining firm in $1b deal

"What we're seeing now is a concerted, bipartisan need to find energy and minerals resources, and deep-sea mining is a key part of that," Albanese, who is AOM's chairman and who led Rio from 2007 through 2013, told Reuters.

As part of the deal, institutional investors will contribute $150 million in a private placement and $75 million in pre-public financing. Mike Rowe, the Emmy award-winning host of the reality television show "Dirty Jobs," is a major investor.

Following the deal's close, expected by August, the company will trade on the Nasdaq.

Shares of Odyssey Marine rose 88 per cent to $1.57 in Wednesday trading.