3M Allowed to Issue $1 Billion of Stock in Earplug Settlement

3M Co. has gotten court approval to issue $1 billion worth of unregistered stock as part of its $6 billion settlement with service members over its allegedly defective combat earplugs.

Using unregistered stock as payment is fair to the earplug users, said Judge M. Casey Rodgers, who oversees the vast hearing-loss litigation. The valuation methodology and two other considerations weigh in favor of that conclusion, Rodgers said Dec. 31, 2023, for the US District Court for the Northern District of Florida.

First, the stock’s value will be determined using a weighted average “used by regulators and sophisticated parties—such as investment ...