CalSTRS says has not seen details of bid for Freedom Group

The California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) said on Wednesday it had not seen details of a plan by Cerberus Capital Management LP fund managers to bid for gun maker Freedom Group but that it understood Cerberus had to explore several options.

"CalSTRS appreciates the difficulty Cerberus faces in its sale and we understand Cerberus may have to consider a wide variety of options," a CalSTRS spokesman said in an emailed statement.

"However, we have seen no details with respect to a potential sale to Cerberus principals and therefore, have nothing to say with regard to this question," the spokesman added.

CalSTRS had invested $751.4 million with Cerberus by the end of September 2012, according to its website. With $163.7 billion in assets under management, CalSTRS is the largest teachers' fund and the second largest pension fund in the United States.

Cerberus Chief Executive Stephen Feinberg and his partners may bid for Freedom Group, maker of the Bushmaster rifle, which was put up for sale after one of its guns was used in a Connecticut school shooting in December, three sources familiar with the situation told Reuters on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)