Hancock Timber Resource Group Acquires Approximately 79,000 Acres of Timberlands in Wisconsin

BOSTON, Sept. 21, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hancock Timber Resource Group has completed the acquisition of 78,986 acres of timberlands in northwestern Wisconsin, Hancock Timber Resource Group President Brent Keefer said today.

The 78,986 acres of timberlands, located in Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas and Washburn counties, were acquired from investment funds managed by The Lyme Timber Company, a private timberland investment management organization based in Hanover, New Hampshire.

"These assets are attractively stocked with primarily red pine, jack pine and hardwood forest types. They will supply a diverse customer base who manufacture utility poles, lumber, studs and pulp and paper products. We are very pleased to add these high quality productive timberlands to our clients' portfolios," Mr. Keefer said. "We also look forward to managing these timberlands which have been protected under conservation easements. This type of management is consistent with our long standing stewardship ethic."

More than 90% of the timberlands are managed under working forest conservation easements purchased from Lyme Timber by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. These easements were acquired as part of the Brule-St. Croix Forest Legacy Project that ensured the lands will be available for forest management and timber production to serve the wood products industry, and will remain open to the public for nature-based recreational activities.

"Working with Lyme Timber, the DNR was able to acquire conservation easements that consolidated a large block of our northern forest under one owner, supported the long term management of land for timber production and guaranteed that the land remained open for public outdoor recreation purposes including hunting, fishing, trapping, hiking and cross country skiing," said Fred Souba, Jr., Chief Forester for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. "We appreciate Lyme Timber's commitment and look forward to working with Hancock Timber in the years to come."

With this acquisition, HTRG manages approximately 440,000 acres of timberland in the Lake States, 3.6 million acres in the US and 5.9 million acres globally.

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 5.9 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. The Hancock Natural Resource Group specializes in global timberland, farmland and renewable energy portfolio development and management. Assets are managed on behalf of our clients through Hancock Timber, the Hancock Agricultural Investment Group and the Hancock Renewable Energy Group.

About Manulife Asset Management
Manulife Asset Management is the global asset management arm of Manulife Financial Corporation ("Manulife"). We provide comprehensive asset management solutions for investors across a broad range of public and private asset classes, as well as asset allocation solutions. We also provide portfolio management for affiliated retail Manulife and John Hancock product offerings. Our investment solutions include public and private equities and fixed income, timberland, farmland, real estate, power and infrastructure, oil and gas, renewable energy, and mezzanine debt. We operate in the United States, Canada, Brazil, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, as well as through a China joint venture, Manulife TEDA. We also serve investors in select European, Middle Eastern and Latin American markets.

As at June 30, 2017, assets under management for Manulife Asset Management were approximately C$480 billion (US$370 billion, GBP£285 billion, EUR€324 billion). Additional information may be found at ManulifeAM.com.

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. As of June 30, 2017, we had over $1 trillion (US$780 billion) in assets under management and administration, and in the previous 12 months we made $26.7 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.

About The Lyme Timber Company
The Lyme Timber Company LP is a private timberland investment management organization that focuses on the acquisition and sustainable management of lands with unique conservation values. Since its founding in 1976, the company has followed a disciplined and value oriented investment approach and has conserved over 1 million acres of timberland in the US and Canada. For more information, visit: http://www.lymetimber.com/.

SOURCE Hancock Timber Resource Group

Related Links

http://www.hancocktimber.com