The price SAA paid to buy and close down Flitestar may well have been well in excess of the R198m taxpayers money quoted. It would appear thet the Flitestar shareholders made a very tidy but undeserved profit in the whole affair. The fact that SAA used such "buy and liquidate" tactics to destroy opposition detracts from the fact that SAA paid way more for the airline than it was worth.
Another query which someone might wish to comment on is what is the family name of the majority shareholders of Safmarine/Safren at the time of the Flitestar transaction. And what was the maiden name of the wife of the then Minister of Transport.