1. RTO. When a company buys out a larger company, but could also occasionally refer to a private company taking over a publicly listed company. Typically, a public company that is taken over by a private company will remain listed, and the private company will use the acquisition as means of gaining a listing. A reverse takeover is a relatively rare event. 2. One way for a company to become publicly traded, by acquiring a public company and then installing its own management team and renaming the acquired company. also called reverse acquisition.