NEW YORK, June 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- S&P Indices will make the following changes to the S&P 500 and S&P MidCap 400 indices:

• Monster Beverage Corp. (NASD:MNST)  will replace Sara Lee Corp. (NYSE:SLE) in the S&P 500 index, and the post spin Sara Lee stub, which will be renamed The Hillshire Brands Co. (NYSE:HSHwi), will replace Monster Beverage Inc. in the S&P MidCap 400 index after the close of trading on Thursday, June 28. Sara Lee is spinning off its international Coffee & Tea business to shareholders in a transaction expected to be effective after the close of trading on that date.
• Alexander & Baldwin Inc. (NYSE:ALEXwi) will replace Patriot Coal Corp. (NYSE:PCX) in the S&P MidCap 400 index after the close of trading on Friday, June 29. Alexander & Baldwin Holdings Inc. (NYSE:ALEX) is spinning off the new Alexander & Baldwin to shareholders in a transaction expected to be effective after the close of trading on that date. The stub company, which is changing its name to Matson Inc. (NYSE:MATX), will remain in the S&P MidCap 400 index following completion of the transaction. Patriot Coal is currently ranked #400 in the MidCap 400 index and is no longer representative of the midcap market space.

Monster Beverage develops, markets, sells, and distributes alternative beverage category beverages. Headquartered in Corona, CA, the company will be added to the S&P 500 GICS (Global Industry Classification Standard) Soft Drinks Sub-Industry index.

Hillshire Brands focuses on providing meat-based food products. Headquartered in Downers Grove, IL, the company will be added to the S&P MidCap 400 GICS Packaged Foods & Meats Sub-Industry index.

Alexander & Baldwin is a real estate and agricultural company. Headquartered in Honolulu, HI, the company will be added to the S&P MidCap 400 GICS Diversified Real Estate Activities Sub-Industry index.

Following is a summary of the changes:

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S&P Indices, a leading brand of the McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE:MHP), maintains a wide variety of investable and benchmark indices to meet an array of investor needs. Over $1.45 trillion is directly indexed to our indices, which includes the S&P 500, the world's most followed stock market index, the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, the leading measure of U.S. home prices, the S&P Global BMI, an index with approximately 11,000 constituents, the S&P GSCI, the industry's most closely watched commodities index, and the S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index, the premier investable index for U.S. municipal bonds. For more information, please visit: www.standardandpoors.com/indices.

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For more information:

Dave Guarino
Communications
S&P Indices
dave_guarino@standardandpoors.com
212-438-1471

David Blitzer
Managing Director and Chairman of the Index Committee
S&P Indices
david_blitzer@standardandpoors.com
212-438-3907

SOURCE S&P Indices