You always uncover amazing finds, Slow Okie! Perhaps we are witnessing a reverse triangular merger? "A reverse triangular merger is the formation of a new company that occurs when an acquiring company creates a subsidiary, the subsidiary purchases the target company, and the subsidiary is then absorbed by the target company."
A reverse triangular merger is more easily accomplished than a direct merger because the subsidiary has only one shareholder—the acquiring company—and the acquiring company may obtain control of the target's nontransferable assets and contracts.