Not sure what terminology you would pick for that - "debt bombing" or "reverse Phoenixing"! The end result is that they stripped it. Then if any liability, they could write that debt off against tax liability and or factor off the debt. Failing that - asset write-off equally works well on tax gaming. Then there are the remaining assets (Like the Brand name for example) that they could sell off cheaply to a company they indirectly own that specialises in licensing... It's a vicious circle at every level when it comes to finance in business. Good news or bad news - somebody profits and a few more people pay.
I will confess - I'm still unclear of the legal and accounting practice aspects that allowed the parent company to push down debt like that. But then debt loading is another way of stripping a company. Though does read a bit like Phoenixing, just in variation that appears to skirt the law and respective regulations in finance and companies. Though, how they could push down debt without raising any flags would be a candidate for root cause in this travisty.