BED Bedford Property Inv

NEW YORK, April 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Standard & Poor's will make the following changes to the S&P SmallCap 600 and S&P REIT Composite indices: -- Sterling Bancorp (NYSE:STL) will replace Pegasus Solutions Inc. (NASD: PEGS) in the S&P SmallCap 600 after the close of trading on Wednesday, May 3, 2006. Pegasus is being acquired by Prides Capital Partners LLC in a deal expected to close on or about that date, pending final approval. -- Radio One Inc. (NASD: ROIAK) will replace iPayment Inc. (NASD: IPMT) in the S&P SmallCap 600 after the close of trading on Friday, May 5, 2006. iPayment is being taken private in a deal expected to close on or about that date, pending final approval. -- Digital Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE:DLR) will replace MeriStar Hospitality Corp. (NYSE:MHX) in the S&P REIT Composite after the close of trading on Tuesday, May 2, 2006. MeriStar is being acquired by The Blackstone Group and affiliates in a deal expected to close on or about that date, pending final approval. -- Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc. (NYSE:SHO) will replace Arden Realty Inc. (NYSE:ARI) in the S&P REIT Composite after the close of trading on Tuesday, May 2, 2006. Arden is being acquired by GE Real Estate in a deal expected to close on or about that date, pending final approval. -- First Potomac Realty Trust (NYSE:FPO) will replace Bedford Property Investors Inc. (NYSE:BED) in the S&P REIT Composite after the close of trading on Wednesday, May 3, 2006. Bedford is being acquired by an affiliate of LBA Realty LLC in a deal expected to close on or about that date, pending final approval. Standard & Poor's will monitor these transactions, and post any relevant updates on its website: http://www.standardandpoors.com/. Sterling Bancorp provides commercial banking services. Headquartered in New York, NY, the company will be added to the S&P SmallCap 600 GICS (Global Industry Classification Standard) Regional Banks Sub-Industry index. Radio One operates radio broadcasting stations. Headquartered in Lanham, MD, the company will be added to the S&P SmallCap 600 Broadcasting & Cable TV Sub-Industry index. Digital Realty Trust is a REIT that specializes in the ownership and management of technology-related real estate. Headquartered in San Francisco, CA, the company will be added to the S&P REIT Composite GICS Specialized REITs Sub-Industry index. Sunstone Hotel Investors buys, owns and renovates primarily upper-upscale full-service hotels. Headquartered in San Clemente, CA, the company will be added to the S&P REIT Composite GICS Specialized REITs Sub-Industry index. First Potomac Realty Trust buys, owns, and operates industrial and flex properties in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, as well as in Virginia and Maryland. Headquartered in Bethesda, MD, the company will be added to the S&P REIT Composite GICS Industrial REITs Sub-Industry index. Following is a summary of the changes: S&P SMALLCAP 600 INDEX - May 3, 2006 COMPANY GICS ECONOMIC SECTOR GICS SUB-INDUSTRY ADDED Sterling Bancorp Financials Regional Banks DELETED Pegasus Solutions Information Technology Data Processing & Outsourced Solutions S&P SMALLCAP 600 INDEX - May 5, 2006 COMPANY GICS ECONOMIC SECTOR GICS SUB-INDUSTRY ADDED Radio One Consumer Discretionary Broadcasting & Cable TV DELETED iPayment Information Technology Data Processing & Outsourced Services S&P REIT COMPOSITE INDEX - May 2, 2006 COMPANY GICS ECONOMIC SECTOR GICS SUB-INDUSTRY ADDED Digital Realty Trust Financials Specialized REITs Sunstone Hotel Investors Financials Specialized REITs DELETED MeriStar Hospitality Financials Specialized REITs Arden Realty Financials Office REITs S&P REIT COMPOSITE INDEX - May 3, 2006 COMPANY GICS ECONOMIC SECTOR GICS SUB-INDUSTRY ADDED First Potomac Realty Financials Industrial REITs Trust DELETED Bedford Property Financials Diversified REITs Investors 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/ http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/

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