04:43 PM EST, 12/09/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Manulife (MFC.TO, MFC) after trade Monday warned its shareholders about an unsolicited mini-tender offer from New York Stock and Bond LLC to buy up to 50,000 Manulife shares at a price of US$12.50 per share, significantly below the current market price.

The offer represents a discount of around 60-61% below the closing prices on the Toronto and New York exchanges, it said.

Manulife is advising shareholders to review the offer documents and consult their investment advisors before making any decision, as mini-tender offers can be misleading and are often made at below-market prices.

"Mini-tender offers are designed to seek less than 5% of a company's outstanding shares, avoiding disclosure and procedural requirements applicable to most bids under Canadian and U.S. securities regulations. The Canadian Securities Administrators and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission have expressed serious concerns about mini-tender offers, including the possibility that investors might tender to such offers without understanding the offer price relative to the actual market price of their securities," it said.

Manulife shares closed down $0.53 to $45.28 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.