McRitchie and his shareholder activist ally John Chevedden proposed that such actions be approved without prior notice to other stockholders or the company, 3M said in a letter to stockholders. (http://r.reuters.com/seq58v)

"The proposal would allow a group of stockholders to force fundamental changes on the company, such as a sale or replacement of the board of directors," Chief Executive Inge Thulin said in the letter.

(Reporting by Sagarika Jaisinghani in Bangalore; Editing by Kirti Pandey)