Mitcham Industries Announces Agreement to Acquire Absolute Equipment Solutions

HUNTSVILLE, Texas, Feb. 22  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Mitcham Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:MIND) announced today that its subsidiary, Mitcham Canada, Ltd., has entered into a definitive agreement with the shareholders of Absolute Equipment Solutions, Inc. ("AES") of Calgary, Alberta to acquire all of the capital stock of AES for a total purchase price of Cdn $4.0 million.  Under the terms of the agreement, Mitcham Canada, Ltd. will pay Cdn $2.2 million at the time of closing the acquisition, Cdn $1.5 million in two-year, 6% notes and Cdn $0.3 million upon the expiration of certain indemnity periods.  Mitcham Industries, Inc. will guarantee the obligations of Mitcham Canada, Ltd. under the agreement.  Closing of the transaction, which is subject to the completion of certain ancillary documentation and other customary conditions, is expected to occur in early March 2010.

Founded in 2005 as a partnership between a helicopter operator and a seismic field supervisor, AES is now the leading provider of equipment used for the deployment and retrieval of seismic recording systems by helicopter in the seismic industry. It manufactures leases and sells "heli-pickers" and associated equipment, such as ground assemblies and heli-bags. AES is the exclusive source for heli-pickers including the "Automatic Bag Runner", the "Mr. T's Universal" and the "All Terrain Runner" systems. In addition to the heli-picker products, AES leases and sells helicopter navigation systems for seismic operations worldwide. Brett Cameron, the managing partner of AES, will remain with the company and join Mitcham's management team.

Bill Mitcham, the President and CEO of Mitcham, said, "We believe the AES products are a natural extension of our lease pool of seismic equipment and will allow us to provide our customers a more complete solution for their equipment needs. Our existing world-wide network of operating locations and customer relationships will provide a channel for increased business for the AES product line.  We are also very pleased to have Brett Cameron join us.  Brett is a seasoned veteran of the seismic business and will be a great addition to our team."

Mitcham Industries, Inc., a geophysical equipment supplier, offers for lease or sale, new and "experienced" seismic equipment to the oil and gas industry, seismic contractors, environmental agencies, government agencies and universities. Headquartered in Texas, with sales and services offices in Calgary, Canada; Brisbane, Australia; Singapore; Ufa, Bashkortostan, Russia; Bogota, Colombia; Lima, Peru and the United Kingdom and with associates throughout Europe, South America and Asia, Mitcham conducts operations on a global scale and is the largest independent exploration equipment lessor in the industry.

This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Section 27A of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical facts included herein, including statements regarding the Company's future financial position and results of operations, planned capital expenditures, the Company's business strategy and other plans for future expansion, the future mix of revenues and business, future demand for the Company's services and general conditions in the energy industry in general and seismic service industry, are forward-looking statements. While management believes that these forward-looking statements are reasonable when and as made, actual results may differ materially from such forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include possible decline in demand for seismic data and our services; the effect of recent declines in oil and natural gas prices on exploration activity; the effect of uncertainty in financial markets on our customers' and our ability to obtain financing; loss of significant customers; defaults by customers on amounts due us; possible impairment of long-lived assets; risks associated with our manufacturing  operations; foreign currency exchange risk; and other factors that are disclosed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K and available from the Company without charge. Readers are cautioned to not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements which speak only as of the date of this release and the Company undertakes no duty to update or revise any forward-looking statement whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

  Contacts:             Billy F. Mitcham, Jr., President & CEO
                        Mitcham Industries, Inc.
                        936-291-2277

                        Jack Lascar / Karen Roan
                        Dennard Rupp Gray & Easterly (DRG&E)
                        713-529-6600


DATASOURCE: Mitcham Industries, Inc.



CONTACT:  Billy F. Mitcham, Jr., President & CEO of Mitcham Industries,

Inc., [phone]; or Jack Lascar / Karen Roan, both of Dennard Rupp Gray

& Easterly (DRG&E), [phone], for Mitcham Industries, Inc.



Web Site:  http://www.mitchamindustries.com/ 

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