John Hancock Increases Commercial and Residential Real Estate in San Diego, California

TSX/NYSE/PSE: MFC SEHK:945

BOSTON, July 15, 2015 /CNW/ - John Hancock, the U.S. division of Manulife Financial Corporation, one of the largest life insurance companies in the world, today announced that it has acquired a nine building commercial portfolio and two residential communities in San Diego, California.

The office portfolio consists of a four campus, nine building, 933,134 square foot portfolio of Class 'A' and 'B' office buildings located in the Sorrento Mesa submarket and Governor Park areas in north San Diego, near the University of California San Diego and the I-805 and I-15 as well as the San Diego COASTER system public transportation system. The portfolio is well leased with long term tenancies from high growth sectors such as bioscience, technology and electronics.

John Hancock has also acquired Casa Lago Eastlake, a 427 unit Class A rental residential property consisting of two complexes constructed in 2013 on approximately 20 acres in Chula Vista, 14 miles southeast of San Diego. The two complexes, Casa Lago Eastlake - East and Casa Lago Eastlake - West, are located within a high end master planned community with top-of-the market architectural design, finishes and amenities and located near state-of-the-art schools and retail.

"These acquisitions are excellent examples of our team's focus on strategic, long term growth," said Kevin Adolphe, President & Chief Executive Officer of Manulife Real Estate and President & Chief Executive Officer of Manulife Asset Management Private Markets. "Eastlake is considered to be one of San Diego's best residential communities and our newly acquired office properties in San Diego are highly complementary to our existing portfolio. These are exciting investments that we are proud to add to our portfolio as we strengthen our commitment to the San Diego market."

Operating as John Hancock Real Estate in the U.S. and Manulife Real Estate in all other parts of the world, the Company's real estate portfolio is diversified by both geography and asset type, consisting 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 the United States. The global real estate portfolio represents assets under management of US$13.2 billion with properties totaling more than 57 million square feet as of March 31, 2015. Other key markets in the United States include Boston, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Washington DC, San Francisco and Atlanta.

"These properties fit in well with our existing San Diego portfolio of Seaview Corporate Centre and our multi-tenant industrial assets at Torrey Pines and Kearny Mesa," said Michael McNamara, Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Real Estate Investments, John Hancock.  "These acquisitions allow us to both diversify our holdings and increase efficiencies as well as accommodate a wider group of tenants."

About Manulife Real Estate and John Hancock Real Estate

Manulife Real Estate is the global real estate arm of Manulife, operating as John Hancock Real Estate in the U.S. and Manulife Real Estate in all other parts of the world. Manulife Real Estate has 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. In addition to equity real estate, Manulife Real Estate manages the space requirements and own use facilities for Manulife's operations around the world. Manulife Real Estate also extends its real estate asset management expertise to institutional investors. As at March 31, 2015, the Manulife Real Estate portfolio totaled more than 57 million square feet with AUM market value of C$16.7 billion (US$13.2 billion). Additional information about Manulife Real Estate can be found at www.manuliferealestate.com.

About Manulife

Manulife is a leading Canada-based financial services group with principal operations in Asia, Canada and the United States. We operate as John Hancock in the U.S. and as Manulife in other parts of the world. We provide strong, reliable, trustworthy and forward-thinking solutions for our customers' 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. Assets under management by Manulife and its subsidiaries were approximately C$821 billion (US$648 billion) as at March 31, 2015.

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: "John Hancock acquires nine-building, 933,000 SF commercial office portfolio and two residential communities in San Diego, California. (CNW Group/Manulife Financial Corporation)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150715_C9151_PHOTO_EN_44006.jpg

Image with caption: "John Hancock acquires nine-building, 933,000 SF commercial office portfolio and two residential communities in San Diego, California. (CNW Group/Manulife Financial Corporation)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150715_C9151_PHOTO_EN_44010.jpg

Canadian Media Contact:
Bev MacLean
Manulife Financial
416-852-8501
[email protected]
@ManulifeNews

U.S. Media Contact:
Brian Carmichael
John Hancock Financial
617-663-4748
[email protected] 

Manulife.com