John Hancock Patriot Premium Dividend Fund II Announces Name Change

BOSTON, Oct. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- John Hancock Patriot Premium Dividend Fund II (NYSE: PDT) (the "Fund"), a closed-end fund managed by John Hancock Advisers, LLC and subadvised by MFC Global Investment Management (U.S.), LLC, announced today that the Fund's Board of Trustees voted to change the name of the Fund to John Hancock Premium Dividend Fund. The name change will become effective on October 18th, 2010. Both the Fund's ticker symbol, PDT, and CUSIP number, 41013T105, will remain the same. The name change has no impact on the investment objective or strategy of the Fund.

The Fund's investment objective is to provide high current income, consistent with modest growth of capital for holders of its Common Shares of beneficial interest. Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its assets in dividend paying securities. In addition, the Fund normally will invest more than 25% of its total assets in securities of companies in the utilities industry.

About John Hancock Funds

The Boston-based mutual fund business unit of John Hancock Financial, John Hancock Funds, manages more than $54.7 billion in open-end funds, closed-end funds, private accounts, retirement plans and related party assets for individual and institutional investors at June 30, 2010.

About John Hancock Financial and Manulife Financial Corporation

John Hancock Financial is a unit of Manulife Financial Corporation, a leading Canadian-based financial services group serving millions of customers in 22 countries and territories worldwide. Operating as Manulife Financial in Canada and in most of Asia, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States, Manulife Financial Corporation offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services through its extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were Cdn$454 billion (US$428 billion) at June 30, 2010.

Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under '945' on the SEHK. Manulife Financial can be found on the Internet at www.manulife.com.

The John Hancock unit, through its insurance companies, comprises one of the largest life insurers in the United States. John Hancock offers a broad range of financial products and services, including life insurance, fixed and variable annuities, fixed products, mutual funds, 401(k) plans, long-term care insurance, college savings, and other forms of business insurance. Additional information about John Hancock may be found at www.johnhancock.com.

SOURCE John Hancock Funds