Hancock Timber Resource Group Closes Deal With Bowater Incorporated

BOSTON, January 18, 2002- Hancock Timber Resource Group (HTRG) has acquired 115,000 acres of timberland from Bowater Incorporated (NYSE:BOW) for approximately $104 million.

A purchase and sale agreement for the transaction was announced October 23, 2001.

The property includes 94,400 acres in central South Carolina and 20,600 acres in west central North Carolina. This brings the company's southern holdings to 1.74 million acres under management. HTRG is the world's leading timberland investment management organization for institutional clients, with more than $2.5 billion and 3.1 million acres under management in North America and Australia as of January 15, 2002.

HTRG is a division of Hancock Natural Resource Group, Inc., itself an indirect subsidiary of John Hancock Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE: JHF). John Hancock Financial Services, Inc. is one of America's leading financial service companies, providing a broad array of insurance and investment products and services to retail and institutional customers. As of September 30, 2001, John Hancock and its subsidiaries had total assets under management of $118.8 billion.