CTB Cooper Tire and Rubber Co

NEW YORK, July 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Windstream Corp. (NYSE:WINwi) will replace Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. (NYSE:CTB) in the S&P 500 after the close of trading on Monday, July 17. Windstream is the company being formed by the combination of the wireline segment of S&P 500 constituent Alltel Corp. (NYSE:AT) and Valor Communications Group Inc. (NYSE:VCG) in a transaction scheduled to be completed on or about that date. At today's close of trading Cooper Tire & Rubber had a market cap of roughly $664 million, ranking 500th in the index. Standard & Poor's will monitor this transaction, and post any relevant updates on its website: http://www.standardandpoors.com/. Windstream provide voice, broadband and entertainment services to customers in 16 states. Headquartered in Little Rock, AR, the company will be added to the S&P 500 GICS (Global Industry Classification Standard) Integrated Telecommunication Services Sub-Industry index. Following is a summary of the change: S&P 500 INDEX - July 17, 2006 COMPANY GICS ECONOMIC SECTOR GICS SUB-INDUSTRY ADDED Windstream Telecommunication Integrated Services Telecommunication Services DELETED Cooper Tire & Consumer Discretionary Tires & Rubber Rubber Additions to and deletions from an S&P equity index do not in any way reflect an opinion on the investment merits of the companies concerned. About Standard & Poor's Standard & Poor's, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE:MHP), is the world's foremost provider of independent credit ratings, indices, risk evaluation, investment research and data. With approximately 6,300 employees located in 21 countries and markets, Standard & Poor's is an essential part of the world's financial infrastructure and has played a leading role for more than 140 years in providing investors with the independent benchmarks they need to feel more confident about their investment and financial decisions. For more information, visit http://www.standardandpoors.com/. About The McGraw-Hill Companies Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies is a leading global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education, BusinessWeek and J.D. Power and Associates. The Corporation has more than 290 offices in 38 countries. Sales in 2005 were $6.0 billion. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/. DATASOURCE: Standard & Poor's CONTACT: David M. Blitzer, Ph.D. Managing Director & Chairman of the Index Committee (212) 438-3907 Web site: http://www.standardandpoors.com/

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