NIKE, Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Converse, Inc. The total price to be paid for 100 percent of the equity shares is approximately $305 million plus the assumption of certain working capital liabilities at the time of the transaction’s consummation.
“Converse is one of the strongest footwear brands in the world with great heritage and a long history of success,” Tom Clarke, Nike’s President of New Business Ventures, said. “Converse’s management has done an excellent job of reestablishing this beloved brand with consumers and we look forward to supporting them as they continue to implement their growth strategy. Converse shares our passion for sports and, together, Nike and Converse will generate even greater access to a dynamic consumer base.”*
Jack Boys, Chief Executive Officer of Converse, said, “Over the past two years, we have rebuilt and reinvigorated the Converse brand to its long-standing position as America’s Original Sports Company, but our job is not done. Our core business in heritage products like Chuck Taylor(R) All Star(R) and the Jack Purcell(R) combined with our traditional performance footwear offerings is a great foundation upon which we plan to build and grow. 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.”*
Clarke said, “The Nike brand has always been rooted in performance and innovation. We enjoy a broad and deep connection with consumers around the world which has generated over $9.5 billion in annual revenue under the Nike brand. Our strategy for growing through non-Nike brands is to identify strong brands with superior management teams where Nike can directly assist in the company’s growth. Converse certainly meets our criteria and its brand equity offers potential to drive even greater revenue and earnings performance. We believe the addition of Converse to our increasingly diverse Nike, Inc. portfolio will contribute to creating long-term shareholder value.”*
Consummation of this transaction is subject to regulatory review, including U.S. government review under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Premerger Notification Act.
