Standard & Poor's Announces Change to U.S. Index - Amendment

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.

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DATASOURCE: Standard & Poor's



CONTACT:  David M. Blitzer, Ph.D.

Managing Director & Chairman of the Index Committee

[phone]



Web site:  http://www.standardandpoors.com/ 

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