3M May Spend $2 Billion on Acquisitions This Year

Office supply maker 3M Co (MMM) may double its planned spending on acquisitions to $2 billion this year as it aims to boost its oversea operations.

"We told Wall Street that we would spend probably a billion dollars or north of that," CEO George Buckley told Reuters. "It could be double that number by the time the year is out."

The company is interested in making acquisitions in sectors including health care, security and home and office products.

Buckley said that the company's earnings growth would remain strong in the third quarter after an 18% increase in sales in the second quarter.

3M's focus on high-end products would help it to weather a potential deceleration in demand for electronics, Buckley said.

"We are making films for 3D televisions, for the high performing LED televisions, so I think that the market mix will favor us a little more favorably than it might some other parties," Buckley said.