Enviva and Hancock Natural Resource Group Partner to Develop Industrial Wood Pellet Projects in the Southeastern U.S.

BETHESDA, Md. and BOSTON, Dec. 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Enviva Holdings, LP and John Hancock Life Insurance Company announced today that they have partnered to develop industrial wood pellet production plants and marine export terminals in the southeastern U.S. 

Through their affiliates, Enviva Development Holdings, LLC ("Enviva") and Hancock Natural Resource Group, Inc. ("HNRG"), the companies have committed to invest up to an aggregate of $320 million in equity capital in Enviva Wilmington Holdings, LLC (the "Joint Venture").

The Joint Venture plans to construct an industrial wood pellet production plant in Sampson County, North Carolina, a marine export terminal at the Port of Wilmington, North Carolina, and potentially other wood pellet plants and marine terminals in the southeastern U.S.  Enviva will serve as the managing member and operator of the Joint Venture.  The Joint Venture expects to commence construction of the Sampson plant and Wilmington terminal later this month.  Wood pellet production from the Sampson plant will be exported through the Wilmington terminal under long-term contracts with major European power generators.  The Joint Venture's customers are replacing coal with wood pellets to improve the environmental profile of energy generation.

Enviva's affiliates currently own and operate five wood pellet production plants throughout the southeastern U.S. and export its product through terminals in Chesapeake, Virginia and Mobile, Alabama.  The Joint Venture's projects are expected to complement this existing operating footprint.

About Enviva Holdings, LP

Enviva's mission is to become the preferred partner and supplier of wood pellets and other processed woody biomass fuels to serve power generation and other customers seeking to decrease their dependence on fossil fuels and reduce their carbon footprint.  Enviva has been supplying wood chips and wood pellets to customers in the U.S. and Europe, safely, stably, and reliably since 2007.  For more information about Enviva, go to www.envivabiomass.com.

About the Hancock Natural Resource Group (HNRG)

HNRG, which has $14 Billion of assets under management, is based in Boston and was founded in 1985.  It is comprised of three divisions: the Hancock Timber Resource Group, the Hancock Agricultural Investment Group and the Hancock Renewable Energy Group. HNRG is a registered investment adviser, a wholly owned subsidiary of Manulife Financial Corporation and a unit of the Manulife Asset Management Private Markets group.  Hancock Natural Resources Group was supported on this transaction by Greentech Capital Advisors, K&L Gates LLP and Leidos Engineering LLC.

About John Hancock Financial and Manulife Financial

John Hancock Financial is a division of Manulife Financial, a leading Canada-based financial services group with principal operations in Asia, Canada and the United States. Clients look to Manulife for strong, reliable, trustworthy and forward-thinking solutions for their most significant financial decisions. Our international network of employees, agents and distribution partners offers financial protection and wealth management products and services to millions of clients. We also provide asset management services to institutional customers. Funds under management by Manulife and its subsidiaries were approximately C$663 billion (US$591 billion) as at September 30, 2014. We operate as John Hancock in the U.S. and as Manulife in other parts of the world. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under '945' on the SEHK. Manulife can be found on the Internet at manulife.com. The John Hancock unit, through its insurance companies, comprises one of the largest life insurers in the United States. John Hancock offers and administers a broad range of financial products, including life insurance, annuities, investments, 401(k) plans, long-term care insurance, college savings, and other forms of business insurance. Additional information about John Hancock may be found at johnhancock.com.

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SOURCE Enviva Development Holdings, LLC