SYD Sybron Dental Specialties

NEW YORK, May 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Standard & Poor's will make the following change to the S&P SmallCap 600: -- Safety Insurance Group Inc. (NASD: SAFT) will replace Sybron Dental Specialties Inc. (NYSE:SYD) after the close of trading on Monday, May 15, 2006. Sybron Dental is being acquired by S&P 500 constituent Danaher Corp. (NYSE:DHR) in a tender offer expected to close on or about that date, pending final approval. Standard & Poor's will monitor this transaction, and post any relevant updates on its website: http://www.standardandpoors.com/. Safety Insurance provides private passenger automobile insurance in Massachusetts. In addition, the company offers a portfolio of property and casualty insurance products. Headquartered in Boston, MA, the company will be added to the S&P SmallCap 600 GICS (Global Industry Classification Standard) Property & Casualty Insurance Sub-Industry index. Following is a summary of the change: S&P SMALLCAP 600 INDEX - May 15, 2006 COMPANY GICS ECONOMIC SECTOR GICS SUB-INDUSTRY ADDED Safety Insurance Financials Property & Casualty Insurance DELETED Sybron Dental Health Care Health Care Supplies 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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