EP EL Paso Corp. (Holding Co.)

NEW YORK, Dec. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Standard & Poor's will make the following changes to the S&P 100, S&P 500, S&P MidCap 400 and S&P SmallCap 600 indices: -- S&P MidCap 400 constituent Equitable Resources Inc. (NYSE:EQT) will replace Transocean Inc. (NYSE:RIG) in the S&P 500, S&P SmallCap 600 constituent Woodward Governor Co. (NASDAQ:WGOV) will replace Equitable Resources in the S&P MidCap 400, and Forrester Research Inc. (NASDAQ:FORR) will replace Woodward Governor in the S&P SmallCap 600 after the close of trading on Thursday, December 18. Transocean is in the process of redomesticating to Switzerland, rendering it ineligible for continued inclusion in the S&P 500. -- The following changes will be made to the S&P 100 after the close of trading on Friday, December 19: Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) will replace International Paper Co. (NYSE:IP), Lowe's Companies Inc. (NYSE:LOW) will replace CBS Corp. (NYSE:CBS), Devon Energy Corp. (NYSE:DVN) will replace El Paso Corp. (NYSE:EP), Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE:LMT) will replace The AES Corp. (NYSE:AES), Walgreen Co. (NYSE:WAG) will replace Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE:HIG), Schering-Plough Corp. (NYSE:SGP) will replace American International Group Inc. (NYSE:AIG), and Nike Inc. (NYSE:NKE) will replace CIGNA Corp. (NYSE:CI). All companies being added to the S&P 100 are currently S&P 500 constituents, and all companies being removed from the S&P 100 will remain S&P 500 constituents. "Standard & Poor's is making these changes to the S&P 100 in order to bolster its representativeness of the U.S. mega-cap equity space. All companies being added have market values of $23 billion or greater, while all being removed have market values below $6 billion," says Dr. David Blitzer, Chairman of the U.S. Index Committee. Standard & Poor's will monitor these transactions, and post any relevant updates on its website: http://www.standardandpoors.com/. Equitable Resources is an energy company that focuses on natural gas production, transmission and distribution, and energy management services. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, the company will be added to the S&P 500 GICS (Global Industry Classification Standard) Gas Utilities Sub-Industry Index. Woodward Governor designs, manufactures and services energy control systems and components for commercial & military aircraft, turbines, reciprocating engines and electrical power system equipment. Headquartered in Fort Collins, CO, the company will be added to the S&P MidCap 400 GICS Electrical Components & Equipment Sub-Industry Index. Forrester Research provides advice to business and technology customers. Headquartered in Cambridge, MA, the company will be added to the S&P SmallCap 600 GICS IT Consulting & Other Services Sub-Industry Index. Headquartered in Foster City, CA, Gilead Sciences engages in the discovery, development, and commercialization of therapeutics for the treatment of life-threatening infectious diseases. Headquartered in Mooresville, NC, Lowe's operates as a home-improvement retailer. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, OK, Devon Energy specializes in oil and gas exploration, development, and production. Headquartered in Bethesda, MD, Lockheed Martin is a military weapons manufacturer, as well as a significant supplier to NASA and other government agencies. Headquartered in Deerfield, IL, Walgreen operates a chain of drug stores across the U.S. Headquartered in Kenilworth, NJ, Schering-Plough discovers, develops, manufactures and sells pharmaceuticals. Headquartered in Beaverton, OR, Nike specializes in footwear, apparel, equipment, and accessory products worldwide. Following is a summary of the changes: S&P 500 INDEX - December 18, 2008 COMPANY GICS ECONOMIC SECTOR GICS SUB-INDUSTRY ADDED Equitable Resources Utilities Gas Utilities DELETED Transocean Energy Oil & Gas Drilling S&P MIDCAP 400 INDEX - December 18, 2008 COMPANY GICS ECONOMIC SECTOR GICS SUB-INDUSTRY ADDED Woodward Governor Industrials Electrical Components & Equipment DELETED Equitable Resources Utilities Gas Utilities S&P SMALLCAP 600 INDEX - December 18, 2008 COMPANY GICS ECONOMIC SECTOR GICS SUB-INDUSTRY ADDED Forrester Research Information Technology IT Consulting & Other Services DELETED Woodward Governor Industrials Electrical Components & Equipment S&P 100 INDEX - December 19, 2008 COMPANY GICS ECONOMIC GICS SUB-INDUSTRY SECTOR ADDED Gilead Sciences Health Care Biotechnology Lowe's Consumer Home Improvement Companies Discretionary Retail Devon Energy Energy Oil & Gas Exploration & Production Lockheed Martin Industrials Aerospace & Defense Walgreen Consumer Staples Drug Retail Schering-Plough Health Care Pharmaceuticals Nike Consumer Footwear Discretionary DELETED International Materials Paper Products Paper CBS Consumer Broadcasting Discretionary El Paso Energy Oil & Gas Storage & Transportation AES Utilities Independent Power Producers & Energy Traders Hartford Financial Financials Multi-Line Insurance Services American Financials Multi-Line Insurance International Group CIGNA Health Care Managed Health Care 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 Index Services Standard & Poor's Index Services, the world's leading index provider, maintains a wide variety of investable and benchmark indices to meet an array of investor needs. Its family of indices includes the S&P 500, an index with $1.5 trillion invested and $4.85 trillion benchmarked, and the S&P Global 1200, a composite index comprised of seven regional and country headline indices. For more information, please visit http://www.standardandpoors.com/indices. About Standard & Poor's Standard & Poor's, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE:MHP), is the world's foremost provider of financial market intelligence, including independent credit ratings, indices, risk evaluation, investment research and data. With approximately 8,500 employees, including wholly owned affiliates, located in 23 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/. DATASOURCE: Standard & Poor's CONTACT: David M. Blitzer, Ph.D. Managing Director & Chairman of the Index Committee +1-212-438-3907 Web site: http://www.standardandpoors.com/

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