Hancock Timber Resource Group Acquires 25,000 Acres of Timberlands in Alabama

BOSTON, Feb. 23, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hancock Timber Resource Group has completed the acquisition of approximately 25,000 acres of timberlands in Alabama from Rayonier Inc.

This transaction is a follow-on to another transaction completed in late 2016 where Hancock Timber acquired approximately 37,000 acres of timberlands in Mississippi and Alabama from Rayonier.

"We are very pleased to secure additional high quality timberlands for our clients," said Hancock Timber Resource Group President Brent Keefer. "These properties are located in an area of the US South with deep and diverse markets for forest products. We will be able to supply solid wood and fiber to a variety of facilities in southern Alabama, western Georgia, and northern Florida. We look forward to managing them to their highest potential."

As with the previous acquisition, the timberlands are stocked with well-managed southern pine plantations and hardwoods. The timberlands will be managed by Hancock Forest Management, the organization's integrated property management group. Hancock Timber has approximately 280,000 acres of timberland under management in Mississippi and Alabama, 1.8 million acres in the US South and almost six million acres globally.

In late 2016, Hancock Timber celebrated the planting of its one billionth tree since the organization's founding in 1985. At an event in McCloud, California at the McCloud Forest, one of the company's longest held properties, the one billionth tree was planted and dedicated to the company's employees, stakeholders, business partners and future generations.

About the Hancock Timber Resource Group

The Hancock Timber Resource Group, founded in 1985, is a division of Hancock Natural Resource Group, Inc., a unit of Manulife Asset Management Private Markets. Based in Boston, it manages approximately 5.8 million acres of timberland in the United States, Brazil, Chile, Canada, New Zealand and Australia on behalf of investors worldwide. Additional information about Hancock Timber may be found at www.hancocktimber.com.

About Manulife Asset Management Private Markets

Manulife Asset Management Private Markets has investment expertise in several private asset classes, including commercial real estate, timberland and farmland, biomass renewable energy and oil and gas. Manulife Asset Management Private Markets also partners with Manulife's specialized private asset investment teams to invest in private placement debt, commercial mortgages, private equity and mezzanine debt. Hancock Natural Resources Group, Manulife Real Estate, John Hancock Real Estate, NAL Resources, Regional Power, Manulife Capital, and Hancock Capital Management are units of Manulife Asset Management Private Markets. As at December 31, 2016, Manulife's assets under management in private asset classes were C$111 billion (US$83 billion), including assets managed by and for Manulife's general fund and external clients. Additional information may be found at ManulifeAM.com/PrivateMarkets.

About Manulife

Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services group that helps people achieve their dreams and aspirations by putting customers' needs first and providing the right advice and solutions. We operate as John Hancock in the United States and Manulife elsewhere. We provide financial advice, insurance, as well as wealth and asset management solutions for individuals, groups and institutions. At the end of 2016, we had approximately 35,000 employees, 70,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving more than 22 million customers. At the end of 2016, we had $977 billion (US$728 billion) in assets under management and administration, and in the previous 12 months we made almost $26 billion in payments to our customers. Our principal operations are in Asia, Canada and the United States where we have served customers for more than 100 years. With our global headquarters in Toronto, Canada, we trade as 'MFC' on the Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges and under '945' in Hong Kong.

SOURCE Hancock Timber Resource Group