Los Angeles, July 10: Renowned sports apparel maker Nike has announced a 305-million-dollar deal to buy athletic footwear company Converse in what is largely seen as an attempt to expand its market share. "Converse is one of the strongest footwear brands in the world with great heritage and a long history of success," said Tom Clarke, Nike's president of new business ventures, in a statement issued in Beaverton, Oregon yesterday. "Converse shares our passion for sports and, together, Nike and converse will generate even greater access to a dynamic consumer base," he added.
Under the deal, which still has to be approved by US government regulators, Nike will also assume some of Converse's liabilities. Converse, which is based in North Andover, Massachusetts, is a leading manufacturer of high-performance and casual athletic footwear and apparel, whose brand names include "Chuck Taylor," "All Star", "Jack Purcell," and "One Star" shoes.

It sells its products in over 12,000 stores across the United States and in over 100 countries and generated approximately 390 million dollars in sales in 2002, according to company figures. Nike's revenue totaled 10.7 billion dollars in fiscal year 2003 that ended on May 31.
"Our partnership with Nike creates significant opportunity for us to execute our vision for building a leading global sports footwear and apparel brand by growing our core business and expanding our product offerings into other sports performance and lifestyle categories," said Jack Boys, chief executive officer of converse. Bureau Report