"The real estate market is hot and this was an opportunity to sell some capital," Mark Shuster, spokesperson for the company, tells GlobeSt.com. The company, adds Shuster, will maintain its headquarters in this area. It is currently looking for a smaller building with the general vicinity. "This was more space than we needed," says Shuster. "We were only using two of the four floors in the building."

Converse plans to close its three manufacturing plants located in North Carolina, Texas and Mexico and license its brand name in the US. The company acquired Apex One Inc., a sporting clothing company, in 1995, but the move failed to boost revenues and incurred substantial debt for Converse. The company missed a $25 million interest payment in June and was taken off Nasdaq.