Politics stopped SIA getting AN.Yes they were hesitant and dithered but at the behest of politics I am sure. Foreign ownership is a sensitive issue now and more so then.
Trust me on this, Temasek via Singtel had just bought Optus and PM Howard did not want it to look like the Asians were buying everything (he was sensitive about the asian thing back then you may remember) and the then cabinet held out on SIA with the very effective lobbying of the Qantas board and execs who ran the scare campaign.
Costello was pro SIA but was over ruled.
Having worked for AN for years they were as good as broke when air NZ bought them.TNT and News had used the cashflow without reinvestment and restructuring.I had discussions with a senior manager in the late 80's when rumours abounded about their viability. They were not going well.
Rod Eddington was tasked with tarting it up for sale and did a brilliant job sucking in an less than brilliant air nz board at the time.
All water under the bridge now.AN were poorly run for many years and we suffered the consequences.
It is a matter of interest but that's all.I am getting on with life.