WORLD ACCEPTANCE CORP — Major Shareholding Notification 2017

Feb 13, 2017

SC 13G/A 1 worldaccept3211211-sc13ga.htm AMENDMENT TO SCHEDULE FILED TO REPORT ACQUISITION OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549

SCHEDULE 13G Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Amendment No. 1)*

| World Acceptance
Corp |
| --- |
| (Name of Issuer) |
| Common Stock |
| (Title of Class of Securities) |
| 981419104 |
| (CUSIP Number) |
| December 31,
2016 |
| (Date of Event Which Requires Filing of this
Statement) |

Check the appropriate box to designate the rule pursuant to which this Schedule is filed:

X
Rule
13d-1(c)
Rule
13d-1(d)

*The remainder of this cover page shall be filled out for a reporting person's initial filing on this form with respect to the subject class of securities, and for any subsequent amendment containing information which would alter the disclosures provided in a prior cover page.

The information required in the remainder of this cover page shall not be deemed to be "filed" for the purpose of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Act") or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section of the Act but shall be subject to all other provisions of the Act (however, see the Notes).

Page 1 of 8

CUSIP No. 981419104

| 1 | NAME OF REPORTING PERSON Manulife Financial
Corporation | |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2 | CHECK THE
APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP | (a) ☐ (b) ☐ |
| | N/A | |
| 3 | SEC USE ONLY | |
| 4 | CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF
ORGANIZATION Canada | |
| Number of Shares Beneficially Owned by Each Reporting Person With | 5 | SOLE VOTING
POWER |
| | | -0- |
| | 6 | SHARED VOTING
POWER |
| | | -0- |
| | 7 | SOLE DISPOSITIVE
POWER |
| | | -0- |
| | 8 | SHARED DISPOSITIVE
POWER |
| | | -0- |
| 9 | AGGREGATE AMOUNT
BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON | |
| | None, except through its indirect, wholly-owned subsidiaries,
Manulife Asset Management (North America) Limited and Manulife Asset Management Limited | |
| 10 | CHECK IF THE
AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (9) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES * | |
| | N/A | |
| 11 | PERCENT OF CLASS
REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW 9 | |
| | See line 9 above. | |
| 12 | TYPE OF
REPORTING PERSON * | |
| | HC | |
| SEE
INSTRUCTIONS | | |

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CUSIP No. 981419104

1	NAME OF REPORTING PERSON Manulife Asset Management (North America) Limited
2	CHECK THE
APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP*	(a) ☐ (b) ☐
	N/A
3	SEC USE ONLY
4	CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF
ORGANIZATION Canada
Number of Shares Beneficially Owned by Each Reporting Person With	5	SOLE VOTING
POWER
		1,941
	6	SHARED VOTING
POWER
		-0-
	7	SOLE DISPOSITIVE
POWER
		1,941
	8	SHARED DISPOSITIVE
POWER
		-0-
9	AGGREGATE AMOUNT
BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON
	1,941
10	CHECK IF THE
AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (9) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES *
	N/A
11	PERCENT OF CLASS
REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW 9
	0.02%
12	TYPE OF
REPORTING PERSON *
	IA
*SEE
INSTRUCTIONS

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CUSIP No. 981419104

| 1 | NAME OF REPORTING PERSON Manulife Asset Management
Limited | |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2 | CHECK THE
APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP | (a) ☐ (b) ☐ |
| | N/A | |
| 3 | SEC USE ONLY | |
| 4 | CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF
ORGANIZATION Canada | |
| Number of Shares Beneficially Owned by Each Reporting Person With | 5 | SOLE VOTING
POWER |
| | | 254,873 |
| | 6 | SHARED VOTING
POWER |
| | | -0- |
| | 7 | SOLE DISPOSITIVE
POWER |
| | | 254,873 |
| | 8 | SHARED DISPOSITIVE
POWER |
| | | -0- |
| 9 | AGGREGATE AMOUNT
BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON | |
| | 254,873 | |
| 10 | CHECK IF THE
AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (9) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES * | |
| | N/A | |
| 11 | PERCENT OF CLASS
REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW 9 | |
| | 2.87% | |
| 12 | TYPE OF
REPORTING PERSON * | |
| | FI | |
| SEE
INSTRUCTIONS | | |

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| Item
1(a) | Name of Issuer : |
| --- | --- |
| | World Acceptance Corp |
| Item 1(b) | Address of Issuer's Principal Executive
Offices : 108 Frederick Street Greensville, South Carolina, 29607 |
| Item 2(a) | Name of Person Filing : This filing is made on behalf of Manulife Financial
Corporation ("MFC") and MFC’s indirect, wholly-owned subsidiaries,
Manulife Asset Management (North America) Limited ("MAM (NA)") and Manulife Asset Management Limited ("MAML"). |
| Item 2(b) | Address of Principal Business
Office : The principal business offices of MFC,
MAML and MAM (NA) are located at 200 Bloor Street
East, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M4W 1E5. |
| Item 2(c) | Citizenship : MFC, MAML and MAM (NA) are organized and exist under the laws of Canada. |
| Item 2(d) | Title of Class of
Securities : Common
Stock |
| Item 2(e) | CUSIP Number : 981419104 |
| Item 3 | If this statement is filed pursuant to §§240.13d-1(b) or
240.13d-2(b) or (c), check whether the person filing is
a : |

| MFC: | (g) (X) | a parent holding company or
control person in |
| --- | --- | --- |
| | | accordance with
§240.13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(G). |
| MAM (NA): | (e) (X) | an investment adviser in
accordance with |
| | | §240.13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(E). |
| MAML: | (j) (X) | an investment adviser in
accordance with |
| | | §240.13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(J). |

Item 4
(a) Amount Beneficially Owned : MAM (NA) has beneficial ownership of 1,941 shares of Common Stock and MAML has beneficial ownership of 254,873 shares of Common Stock. Through its parent-subsidiary relationship to MAML and MAM (NA), MFC may be deemed to have beneficial ownership of these same shares.
(b) Percent of Class : Of the 8,866,668 shares outstanding as of October 28, 2016 according to the Form 10-Q filed by the issuer with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 4, 2016, MAML held 2.87% and MAM (NA) held 0.02%.

Page 5 of 8

| | (c) Number of shares
as to which the person has : — (i) | sole power
to vote or to direct the vote: |
| --- | --- | --- |
| | | MAML and MAM (NA) each has sole power to
vote or to direct the voting of the shares of Common Stock beneficially
owned by each of them. |
| | (ii) | shared
power to vote or to direct the vote: -0- |
| | (iii) | sole power
to dispose or to direct the disposition of: |
| | | MAML and MAM (NA) each has sole power to
dispose or to direct the disposition of the shares of Common Stock
beneficially owned by each of them. |
| | (iv) | shared
power to dispose or to direct the disposition of: -0- |
| Item
5 | Ownership of Five Percent or Less of a Class : | |
| | If this statement is being filed to report the fact that as of the
date hereof the reporting person has ceased to be the beneficial owner of
more than five percent of the class of securities, check the following
[X]. | |
| Item
6 | Ownership of More than Five Percent on Behalf of Another
Person : | |
| | Not applicable. | |
| Item
7 | Identification and Classification of the
Subsidiary which Acquired the Security Being Reported on by the Parent
Holding Company or Control Person : | |
| | See Items 3 and 4 above. | |
| Item
8 | Identification and Classification of Members of the
Group : | |
| | Not applicable. | |
| Item
9 | Notice of Dissolution of Group : | |
| | Not applicable. | |
| Item
10 | Certification : | |
| | By signing below the undersigned certifies that, to the best of its
knowledge and belief, (i) the securities referred to above were acquired and are held in the
ordinary course of business and were not acquired and are not held for the purpose of
or with the effect of changing or influencing the control of the issuer of the securities and were not
acquired and are not held in connection with or as a participant in any transaction having that
purpose or effect, and (ii) the foreign regulatory schemes applicable to MAML, are substantially
comparable to the regulatory scheme applicable to the functionally equivalent U.S. institutions.
The undersigned also undertakes to furnish to the Commission staff, upon request, information that would
otherwise be disclosed in a Schedule
13D. | |

Page 6 of 8

SIGNATURE

After reasonable inquiry and to the best of its knowledge and belief, each of the undersigned certifies that the information set forth in this statement is true, complete and correct.

	Manulife Financial Corporation — By:	/s/ Graham A. Miller
	Name:	Graham A. Miller
Dated: February 9, 2017	Title:	Agent*
	Manulife Asset Management Limited
	By:	/s/ Warren Rudick
	Name:	Warren Rudick
Dated: February 9, 2017	Title:	General Counsel and Secretary
	Manulife Asset Management (North America)
Limited
	By:	/s/ Warren Rudick
	Name:	Warren Rudick
Dated: February 9, 2017	Title:	General Counsel and Secretary

• Signed pursuant to a Power of Attorney dated June 10, 2014 included as Exhibit A to Schedule 13F- NT filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by Manulife Financial Corporation on August 27, 2014.

Page 7 of 8

EXHIBIT A

JOINT FILING AGREEMENT

Manulife Financial Corporation, Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC, Manulife Asset Management Limited and Manulife Canadian Focused Fund agree that the Schedule 13G (Amendment No.1) to which this Agreement is attached, relating to the Common Stock of World Acceptance Corp, is filed on behalf of each of them.

	Manulife Financial Corporation — By:	/s/ Graham A. Miller
	Name:	Graham A. Miller
Dated: February 9, 2017	Title:	Agent*
	Manulife Asset Management Limited
	By:	/s/ Warren Rudick
	Name:	Warren Rudick
Dated: February 9, 2017	Title:	General Counsel and Secretary
	Manulife Asset Management (North America)
Limited
	By:	/s/ Warren Rudick
	Name:	Warren Rudick
Dated: February 9, 2017	Title:	General Counsel and Secretary

• Signed pursuant to a Power of Attorney dated June 10, 2014 included as Exhibit A to Schedule 13F- NT filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by Manulife Financial Corporation on August 27, 2014.

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