In a letter sent to Canada Life shareholders this week, Manulife president and CEO Dominic D’Alessandro encourages them to accept Manulife’s takeover offer and tender their shares now.

The offer is scheduled to expire on February 28.

“We are confident that you will find we are offering full and fair value for your shares. We are providing you with attractive choices and making it as convenient as possible for you to tender your shares to the Offer,” the letter states.

Manulife’s offer presents Canada Life shareholders with a choice of $40 in cash (payable in local currency in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Ireland) or 1.055 Manulife shares for each Canada Life share.

Manulife say’s its offer is 30% higher than the market value of Canada Life shares before Manulife announced its offer in December 2002, and more than double the issue price of $17.50 at the time of Canada Life’s demutualization, in November 1999. It is also higher than Canada Life’s share price for most of last week.

“We made this offer because we believe it is in the best interests of the shareholders of Canada Life and of Manulife. For their own reasons, the management and Board of Directors of Canada Life don’t agree,” Mr. D’Alessandro says in the letter. “In the end, the final decision is yours. You and your fellow shareholders are the owners of Canada Life; not the Board, and not management. You are entitled to decide what is in your best interests.”

The letter is addressed only to people identified as Canada Life shareholders in a list provided by Canada Life last month.