Standard & Poor's Announces Update to the U.S. Market Cap Guidelines and Changes to U.S. Indices

NEW YORK, Feb. 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Standard & Poor's is updating the market cap guidelines for its U.S. indices. Effective today, the new guidelines are:

• S&P 500-- $4 billion or greater
• S&P MidCap 400-- $1 billion to $4.4 billion
• S&P SmallCap 600-- $300 million to $1.4 billion

"Standard & Poor's feels that the new market cap ranges for its U.S. indices are appropriate, based on our review of recent market activity, comments from index users and the current U.S. market cap distribution," says David Blitzer, Managing Director and Chairman of the Index Committee. The guidelines refer to a company's total market capitalization, not its float-adjusted cap.

Standard & Poor's will make the following changes to the S&P 500, S&P MidCap 400, and S&P SmallCap 600 indices:

• B&G Foods Inc. BGS will replace Compellent Technologies Inc. CML in the S&P SmallCap 600 after the close of trading on Tuesday, February 22. Compellent Technologies is being acquired by S&P 100 & 500 constituent Dell Inc. DELL in a transaction expected to be completed on or about that date.

• S&P MidCap 400 constituent Joy Global Inc. JOYG will replace Allegheny Energy Inc. AYE in the S&P 500, S&P SmallCap 600 constituent Cypress Semiconductor Corp. CY will replace Joy Global in the S&P MidCap 400, and Cardtronics Inc. CATM will replace Cypress Semiconductor in the SmallCap 600 after the close of trading on a date to be announced. Allegheny Energy is being acquired by S&P 500 constituent FirstEnergy Corp. FE in a transaction expected to be completed soon pending final approvals.

Standard & Poor's will monitor these transactions, and post any relevant updates on its website: www.standardandpoors.com.

B&G Foods manufactures, sells and distributes a portfolio of shelf-stable food products. Headquartered in Parsippany, NJ, the company will be added to the S&P SmallCap 600 GICS (Global Industry Classification Standard) Packaged Foods & Meats Sub-Industry index.

Joy Global is a manufacturer and servicer of high productivity mining equipment for the extraction of coal and other minerals and ores. Headquartered in Milwaukee, WI, the company will be added to the S&P 500 GICS Construction & Farm Machinery & Heavy Trucks Sub-Industry index.

Cypress Semiconductor operates as a semiconductor company. Headquartered in San Jose, CA, the company will be added to the S&P MidCap 400 GICS Semiconductors Sub-Industry index.

Cardtronics owns and operates ATMs and financial services kiosks. Headquartered in Houston, TX, the company will be added to the S&P SmallCap 600 GICS Data Processing & Outsourced Services Sub-Industry index.

Following is a summary of the changes:

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 www.standardandpoors.com/indices.

About Standard & Poor's

Standard & Poor's, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies 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 21 countries. 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.

SOURCE Standard & Poor's