Manulife Financial, John Hancock merger completed end April 2004

TORONTO – The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions and the Minister of Finance approved the merger process between Manulife Financial and John Hancock Financial Services Inc. It is scheduled to be completed or "closed" by April 28, 2004.

Manulife previously received regulatory approvals in the United States from insurance regulatory authorities in Massachusetts, Delaware and Vermont, and the Federal Reserve Board.

The completion of the merger, the largest cross-border transaction in Canadian history, will make Manulife the largest life insurance company in Canada, the second largest in North America and the fifth largest in the world based on market capitalization as at March 2004. Immediately after the closing of the merger, Manulife expects to have 805 million common shares issued and outstanding.

The combination will give Manulife diversity and depth of products and distribution, a leading position in the marketplace across all of its core business lines and economies of scale.

"Our goal is to use the best resources, talent and processes from each of the organizations throughout the integration process to create one of the world’s most diversified and financially strong life insurers," said Dominic D’Ales-sandro, president and chief executive officer. "At the same time, we will leverage the best of each company to drive organic growth of our existing businesses."

After the merger, Manulife intends to maintain significant workforces Toronto, Boston, Kitchener-Waterloo, Halifax and Montreal, as well as in its Asian operations. The companies have had substantial experience in and will handle any staffing changes in a way that meets or exceeds industry practices.

"This merger is very much about growth, and for that we need talented, engaged people in every department," added D’Alessandro.