In a reverse takeover, also known as a reverse merger, a private company merges with a publicly traded shell.

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The NYSE and Chicago-based Archipelago agreed to merge last week in a reverse takeover that will leave the holders of NYSE seats with 70% of the combined publicly traded firm and Archipelago with 30%.

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So, to use the jargon of the City, there has been a reverse takeover of the government by the gents (yes they are mostly of that gender) of the Treasury, the officials not the elected politicians.

BBC: Big business and Treasury capture government

Unruffled, Nomura's boss dismisses doubts about his plan to turn Japan's 83-year-old brokerage into a global hitter even, he suggests, if that means a "reverse takeover" by former Lehman executives, one of whom may eventually end up with his job.

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To avoid that, Merck structured its takeover of Schering-Plough as a reverse merger, with Schering-Plough technically acquiring Merck, and then renaming the company Merck.

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Their takeover of Afghanistan a first step toward this grandiose goal would galvanize jihadists and could reverse the loss of momentum they have suffered because of the Arab Spring and bin Laden's death.

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