Ante5 To Expand North Dakota Bakken/Three Forks Holdings

To buy 8,655 mineral acres in ND Bakken/Three Forks play.

Ante5 Inc., Minnetonka, Minn., (OTCBB: ANFC) plans to acquire 8,655 net mineral acres in North Dakota's Williston Basin from an undisclosed seller for approximately US$24.67 million in cash.

The deal values the land at average price $2,850 per acre.

Pro forma, Ante5 will increase its acreage position by approximately 90% since November 2011, and will control more than 20,000 net acres targeting the Bakken and Three Forks trend.

Ante5 chief executive Kenneth T. DeCubellis says, “This acquisition is a significant milestone for Ante5 Oil & Gas. Over 70% of the acquired acres are in the counties of Mountrail, Williams, McKenzie, Dunn and Burke. Moreover, 85% of the leases in these core counties boast long primary terms, expiring between 2015 and 2022. Upon completion of this acquisition, we will have nearly doubled the size of Ante5's Bakken and Three Forks exposure."

The company also announced that its board has approved changing the corporate name to Black Ridge Oil & Gas Inc.

"The name change signals a transformative moment for our Company," says DeCubellis. "As we move forward, we will continue to aggressively grow our exposure in the oil rich Bakken and Three Forks play. Black Ridge Oil & Gas reflects our focused mission to create significant shareholder value along the way."

The name change is expected to become effective on April 2. The company's common stock will continue to trade on the OTCBB using the ticker symbol ANFC.