Reverse takeovers have always been legal. There's nothing necessarily wrong or evil in skipping the banks in midtown Manhattan. Nothing wrong in a direct listing , either.

The Wikipedia entry on "reverse takeovers" ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_takeover ) cites the 1955 deal between REO and Nuclear Consultants, Inc. The company eventually became Nucor ( https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/NUE ).