Manulife Financial, John Hancock global merger nears completion

The results of the special meeting last week cemented the basis for the merger of global financial players John Hancock Financial Services Inc. and Manulife Financial Corp.

"The meeting overwhelmingly endorsed the union, marking a major milestone in the process leading to the merger of these two leading insurance companies," Manulife Financial said in a statement.

Held in Washington, approximately 69 percent of total outstanding shares were present and voted with more than 95 percent of the votes cast favoring the adoption of the merger agreement. A positive vote by a majority of shares outstanding is required for the merger to be approved and 66 percent of all outstanding were voted in favor.

"Sometime in April, I expect we will be completing the largest cross-border transaction in Canadian history," said Dominic D’Alessandro, president and chief executive officer of Manulife Financial. Upon close, approximately 675,000 John Hancock common shareholders will receive 1.1853 Manulife common shares for each John Hancock common share.

The remaining approvals required for the merger are regulatory and include, among others, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions and the Massachusetts Division of Insurance, the principal Canadian and United States insurance regulators for Manulife and John Hancock.

Combined, Manulife Financial, headquartered in Toronto and John Hancock of Boston with its Canadian subsidiary, Maritime Life of Halifax, will form the second largest life insurance company in North America, the fifth largest in the world, and the third largest publicly-traded company in Canada, based on market capitalization as of February 2004.