[fjtorres]

The *Big* Publishing Houses want a scarcity economy that allows them to charge high prices to cover their high overhead. Predators need meat, after all.
But not all publishers are doing that. A lot are taking avantage of the extremely low overhead of ebook publishing to create and grow *their* publishing houses. And what better low-overhead content than known-good out-of-print books?
If anything, Amazon is helping spawn an entire new wave of small publishers that, over time, may grow pretty big in their own right. It is these little "piranhas", small, agile, and hungry that are the real threat to the BPHs. By focusing on Amazon, they're just giving the New Publishers cover to hunt and feed and grow.
Do notice, Amazon generally ignores all the BPH FUD; this PR "war" between Amazon and the publishers is distinctly one-sided. The BPHs whine and Amazon just shrugs it off and keeps on rolling along.
Which is what they need to do.
Expect more of these deals; the backlist is where the biggest ebook money is to be found.