Dont get reverse merger confused with reverse split. A reverse merger or reverse takeover is when shareholders of the private company purchase control of the public shell company and then merge it with the private company. The publicly traded corporation is called a "shell" since all that exists of the original company is its organizational structure. Whatever the value that the private company had, it would then be transfered into the public shell. So for example, if the private company's value was $20mil, then you divide that into the shell's A/S...for argument sake, lets say 1 bill shares.