Patriot Premium Dividend Fund II (NYSE: PDT) Announces Series Tender Offer Program

Patriot Premium Dividend Fund II (NYSE: PDT) Announces Series Tender Offer
Program
Latest step in Board's commitment to enhance closed-end fund shareholder value

BOSTON, March 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Board of Trustees of the
John Hancock Patriot Premium Dividend Fund II (NYSE: PDT), as part of its
careful review of the options available to help enhance shareholder value
within the context of the Fund's goal of providing shareholders with tax-
advantaged income, has authorized a semi-annual series tender offer program.
Under the program, the Fund will offer to purchase up to 5% of the Fund's
outstanding common shares at 98% of net asset value (NAV) on the date the
tender offer expires, provided that the common shares of the Fund have traded
at an average daily discount to NAV of greater than 10% during a 12-week
measurement period. The tender offers will occur twice a year if the
thresholds are met, with the Board to review the program annually.
The first measurement period will commence in April 2008 and if the Fund's
average daily trading discount at the end of the measurement period is greater
than 10%, it is anticipated that the first series tender offer will be
conducted in the third quarter of 2008.
The Board adopted the semi-annual series tender offer program for reasons
including:
-- To help address the fund's current discount to NAV by allowing
shareholders the ability to tender shares at 98% of NAV if the
measurement thresholds are met.

-- The potential to provide increased liquidity for Fund shareholders.

-- The retirement of any tendered shares would be marginally accretive to
the NAV per share of the Fund, thereby positively impacting the Fund's
NAV.

The investment objective of PDT is to provide a high current income
consistent with modest growth of capital for holders of its common shares of
beneficial interest. The Fund pursues its objective by investing in a
diversified portfolio of dividend-paying preferred and common stocks. The Fund
operates so that dividends paid will qualify in their entirety for the
Dividends Received Deduction (DRD), although there can be no assurance that
this result will be achieved. Income eligible for DRD entitles certain
corporate investors to deduct 70% of the dividends they received from their
taxable income, while individual investors also benefit as the maximum federal
tax rate for qualified dividend income (QDI) is only 15%.
This series tender program is in addition to previously announced actions
taken by the Board:
-- A share repurchase program, approved in December 2007 and conducted
until now.

-- Review and implementation of a series of Patriot fund mergers into PDT
to gain fund efficiencies, which were completed in October of 2007.
Lower shareholder expenses are expected for the majority of the
shareholders as a result of the mergers.

It also should be noted that on December 5, 2006 the Board approved the
filing of an exemptive application with the SEC seeking authority for a
managed distribution plan, which would allow a fund to distribute long-term
gains on a more frequent basis. A fund must obtain an exemptive order from
the SEC in order to adopt such a plan. The SEC announced that it would begin
accepting applications again for such orders on December 1, 2006. However,
despite the Board's proactivity, more than fourteen months have passed and the
SEC still has not granted any such orders. If relief is granted, the Board
will review the possibility of distributing the Fund's long-term gains on a
more frequent basis with the possibility of increasing the Fund's distribution
rate.
Although the Fund is currently trading at a discount to NAV it continues
to deliver strong performance. As of February 29, 2008, for the 1-, 3- and 5-
year periods the Fund's total return percentile rank was 38th, 25th and 32nd,
respectively, outperforming its Lipper peer group average.
About John Hancock Funds
The Boston-based mutual fund business unit of John Hancock Financial
Services, John Hancock Funds manages more than $56.8 billion in open-end
funds, closed-end funds, private accounts, retirement plans and related party
assets for individual and institutional investors at December 31, 2007. John
Hancock Funds are distributed by John Hancock Funds, LLC, member FINRA. For
more information, please visit www.jhfunds.com.
John Hancock Financial Services is a unit of Manulife Financial
Corporation, a leading Canadian-based financial services group serving
millions of customers in 19 countries and territories worldwide. Operating as
Manulife Financial in Canada and Asia, and primarily through John Hancock in
the United States, the company 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$396 billion (US$401
billion) at December 31, 2007. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC'
on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under '0945' on the SEHK. Manulife Financial may
be found on the Internet at www.manulife.com.
The performance data contained within this press release represents past
performance, which does not guarantee future results. Performance, especially
for short time periods, should not be the sole factor in making your
investment decision. Statements in this press release that are not historical
facts are forward-looking statements as defined by United States securities
laws. You should exercise caution in interpreting and relying on forward-
looking statements because they are subject to uncertainties and other factors
which are, in some cases, beyond the fund's control and could cause actual
results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking
statements.
SOURCE John Hancock Funds

Beth McGoldrick for John Hancock Patriot Premium Dividend Fund II,
+1-617-663-4751, bmcgoldrick@jhancock.com