CHARLOTTE, Michigan, Nov. 19, 2009 – Spartan Motors, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPAR) today announced it has reached an agreement to acquire Utilimaster Corporation from John Hancock Life Insurance Company, a unit of Manulife Financial Corporation, a leading Canadian-based financial services group, in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $45 million. Utilimaster is a dominant manufacturer of specialty vehicles made to customer specifications in the delivery and service market, including walk-in vans and hi-cube vans, as well as truck bodies.
