Manulife Investment Management completes majority acquisition of Chilean fruit exporter, David Del Curto S.A. - Seite 2

"We are very excited to work on the ownership transition with the strong DDC management team that is already in place and value The Corso Group's continuing partnership," said William E. Peressini, CEO, HNRG. "We will also work closely with the existing teams on land stewardship which we anticipate will include redeveloping existing orchards and developing those orchards that have not been under cultivation. Through these efforts we will look to expand DDC's production, as well as enhance existing and new marketing partnerships, to create additional opportunity."

Chile benefits from its geographic location and climate, allowing for high value crop production. Because it is located in the Southern Hemisphere, it harvests and markets crops around the world at a time when Northern Hemisphere supplies are low. DDC currently packs and markets fruit for approximately 90 third-party growers as well as fruit from its own farms. In the 2018/19 marketing year, DDC accounted for 1.70% of Chilean fruit volume. DDC sells products to a diverse and global customer base and in the 2018/19 crop year, sold product to nearly 150 customers on four continents. Ninety percent of the total amount of sales are shipped to Europe, North America and Asia.

Fernando Cisternas, CEO, DDC, said, "By joining the Manulife Investment Management and HNRG team, we are able to rely on their extensive agricultural experience to expand our operations and further the reach of the firm. We feel the acquisition will bring tremendous additional resources to our teams and partners."

HNRG was advised by Jon Pratt, managing director, mergers and acquisitions, Duff & Phelps and Tully & Holland on the transaction.

About Hancock Natural Resource Group
Hancock Natural Resource Group (HNRG) is part of Manulife Investment Management's comprehensive Private Markets platform, which includes Private Equity and Credit, Infrastructure, Real Estate, Timber and Agriculture. HNRG's timber division manages approximately 5.6 million acres of timberland across the United States and in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and Chile. HNRG's agricultural investment group oversees approximately 400,000 acres of prime farmland in major agricultural regions of the United States and in Canada and Australia.