Manulife Real Estate Fund acquires Class AAA, LEED Platinum office building in Vancouver

C$ unless otherwise stated 

TORONTO, Aug. 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ - Manulife Real Estate today announced the completion of its acquisition of 3383 Gilmore Way, a 146,537 square foot office building. The property, located in Burnaby BC, a Greater Vancouver suburb, was purchased for Manulife Real Estate's Manulife Canadian Property Portfolio and lifts the Fund's assets under management to approximately CAD$550 million. The Fund is an open-end, income producing real estate investment fund, and invests in quality Canadian commercial real estate assets. The Fund is offered to institutional investors through Manulife Asset Management, the global asset management arm of Manulife Financial.

"The acquisition of 3383 Gilmore Way contributes to the diversification of our Fund portfolio -- adding a high quality, income producing office asset in Western Canada," said Kevin Adolphe, President and CEO of Manulife Asset Management Private Markets. "It is validation of our growth strategy and the significant capital we've raised to date for the Manulife Canadian Property Portfolio."

Located at the intersection of Canada Way and Gilmore Way, 3383 Gilmore Way is a showcase for environmental sustainability and state-of-the-art building systems. It is one of four LEED® Platinum certified office buildings in Metro Vancouver. The complex is 100 per cent leased with a strong, stable tenant with long-term lease arrangements.

The acquisition is aligned to Manulife's long term growth and diversification strategy within the Manulife Canadian Property Portfolio. The Portfolio now holds 22 income-producing office and industrial buildings totaling approximately 3.1 million square feet. Manulife Real Estate, the global real estate arm of Manulife, serves as the asset manager for the Manulife Canadian Property Portfolio, launched in February 2011. The Portfolio extends the benefit of Manulife's extensive real estate investment and management experience to investors. Today, Manulife's global real estate portfolio totals more than 38 million square feet, with more than 1.1 million square feet, owned or managed, in Vancouver.

Notice to Investors
This communication is not, and under no circumstances is to be construed as an invitation to make an investment in the Fund nor does it constitute a public offering to sell units of the Fund. Subscriptions for units of the Fund will only be considered on the terms of the Offering Memorandum (the "OM") of the Fund. Units of the Fund are only available for purchase by "accredited investors", as such term is defined under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Purchasers may have statutory or contractual rights of action under certain circumstances as disclosed in the OM. An investment in units of the Fund is subject to certain risks and is appropriate only for investors who have the capacity to absorb a loss of some or all of their investment. There is no market through which units of the Fund may be sold and none is expected to develop. Under certain circumstances, the Fund is entitled to suspend or restrict rights of redemption. An investment in units of the Fund is not intended as a complete investment program. An investment in units of the Fund should only be made after consultation with independent investment and tax advisors. Only investors who do not require immediate liquidity of their investment should consider the purchase of units of the Fund. Only investors who can reasonably afford a substantial impairment or loss of their entire investment should consider the purchase of Units of the Fund. Please refer to the OM for a further discussion of the risks of investing.

About Manulife Real Estate
Manulife Real Estate is the global real estate arm of Manulife with fully integrated in-house capabilities and 70 years of experience as an active investor, owner, developer and asset manager of commercial real estate. Diversified by both geography and asset type, the portfolio consists primarily of prime office and industrial properties, as well as select retail and multi-family residential properties, in key metropolitan centers throughout Canada, Asia and in the United States, through Manulife's U.S. division, John Hancock. In addition to equity real estate, Manulife Real Estate manages the space requirements and own use facilities for Manulife's operations around the world. In 2011, Manulife Real Estate launched a new real estate fund platform, extending the benefit of its long established real estate asset management expertise to institutional investors. As at June 30, 2014, the Manulife Real Estate portfolio totaled more than 38 million square feet with a market value of C$10.9 billion (US$10.2 billion). Additional information about Manulife Real Estate can be found at manuliferealestate.com.

About Manulife Asset Management
Manulife Asset Management is the global asset management arm of Manulife, providing comprehensive asset management solutions for institutional investors and investment funds in key markets around the world. This investment expertise extends across a broad range of public and private asset classes, as well as asset allocation solutions. As at June 30, 2014, assets under management for Manulife Asset Management were approximately C$300 billion (US$281 billion).

Additional information about Manulife Asset Management may be found at ManulifeAM.com.

About Manulife
Manulife is 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$637 billion (US$597 billion) as at June 30, 2014. Our group of companies operates as Manulife in Canada and Asia and primarily as John Hancock in the United States.

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.

SOURCE Manulife Financial Corporation

Image with caption: "Manulife Real Estate has acquired a five-storey, 146,537 square foot office building in Burnaby, BC in a deal that closed August 14, 2014. The building was purchased for Manulife Canadian Property Portfolio, a core, open-end, income producing real estate investment fund that invests in quality Canadian commercial real estate assets. (CNW Group/Manulife Financial Corporation)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20140825_C7763_PHOTO_EN_42525.jpg