NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) May 12, 2005--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that its ratings on St. Paul, Minn.-based 3M Co. (AA/Stable/A-1+) are not affected by the $1.35 billion cash acquisition of CUNO Inc. CUNO is a leader in the design, manufacture, and marketing of a comprehensive line of filtration products for fluids and gasses. The purchase will be funded by 3M's existing cash balances of $2.8 billion in March 2005. Liquidity remains satisfactory despite the expected decline in cash, because of ample internally generated cash flow, $2.2 billion in fiscal 2004, and external sources of liquidity, including $1 billion of committed and uncommitted lines of credit. We expect 3M to maintain a financial profile in line with
