Manulife Purchases John Hancock Financial

On April 28, 2004, Manulife Financial Corp. completed its $18 billion acquisition of Boston-based life insurer John Hancock Financial Services, Inc. The transaction provided for the issuance of Manulife common shares to Hancock shareholders at 1.1853 Manulife shares for each Hancock share. Manulife has announced that it may repurchase up to $3 billion of its outstanding common shares. The purchase was Canada’s largest cross-border takeover.

Manulife was represented by Dale Scott, general counsel, Richard Lococo, deputy general counsel, James Gallagher, chief legal officer, US, and staff lawyers Bill Dawson (regulatory) and David Kerr (securities); by Torys LLP, with a team that included Brian Davis and Krista Hill (corporate), Blair Keefe (regulatory), Jim Welkoff (tax), Jay Holsten (competition), Ryan Barry, Josée Guibord and Justin Young; and by US counsel Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, with a team that included Casey Cogut, Gary Horowitz, Maripat Alpuche, Mark Brod and Kathryn Sudol (corporate), and Steven Todrys (tax).

John Hancock Financial was represented in-house by Wayne Budd, Jody Acford and Jonathan Chiel; by Stikeman Elliott LLP, who served as Canadian counsel with a team that included William Braithwaite, Brian Rose and Paul Collins in Toronto, and Robert Hogan, Pierre Raymond and Marc Barbeau in Montreal; and by Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, who served as US counsel with a team that included H. Rodgin Cohen, James Morphy, Eric Krautheimer, Andrew Rowen, Daniel Rabinowitz, Max Schwartz, Ronald Creamer, Jr., Yvonne Quinn, Mark Menting, John O’Brien and Peter LaVigne.

Lawyer(s)

Max J. Schwartz James C. Morphy Steven C. Todrys Maripat Alpuche Gary I. Horowitz Brian A. Davis Justin D. Young Andrew S. Rowen Yvonne Quinn R. Jay Holsten Blair W. Keefe Charles I. (Casey) Cogut James W. Welkoff Barbara G. Lohmann H. Rodgin Cohen Paul Collins William J. Braithwaite Mark Menting Ryan E. Barry Daniel Rabinowitz John O'Brien W. Brian Rose Marc B. Barbeau Pierre A. Raymond Eric Krautheimer Mark A. Brod Kathryn King Sudol Ronald E. Creamer, Jr. Krista F. Hill

Firm(s)

Torys LLP Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP Stikeman Elliott LLP Sullivan & Cromwell LLP Sullivan & Cromwell LLP