Private equity firm will begin selling investment as pressure grows following killings in Connecticut
US private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management has said it will begin selling its investment in gunmaker Freedom Group in the light of last week's school shooting in Connecticut.
Cerberus acquired Bushmaster in 2006 and later merged it with other gun companies to create Freedom Group, which reported net sales of $677.3m (£418m) for the nine months ending September 2012, up from $564.6m in the same period a year ago.
Bushmaster is the manufacturer of the AR15 rifle used by the gunman in the Newtown killings that claimed 27 lives, including 20 schoolchildren.
"We do not believe that Freedom Group or any single company or individual can prevent senseless violence or the illegal use or procurement of firearms and ammunition," Cerberus said in a statement.
The private equity firm said it will retain a financial adviser to sell its interests in Freedom Group, and will then return that capital to investors.
Cerberus had come under pressure from the California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) which said on Monday it was reviewing its investment with the private equity firm following the school shooting.
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Guardian