ONE of Africa’s richest women, Wendy Appelbaum, is embroiled in a messy dispute over Dave King’s Cape wine estate – which is now back on the market after the R55-million auction sale fell through.
Appelbaum was the highest bidder for the Quoin Rock estate in Stellenbosch in December when her R55-million bid was too much for other registered bidders, including the likes of Shoprite Checkers CEO Whitey Basson.
But Appelbaum, who already owns a wine estate in Stellenbosch, claims she subsequently found out she was the only genuine bidder. She is now disputing the legality of the auction process.
In an e-mail to the Sunday Times she said she would be “more than happy to pay R55-million for Quoin Rock if the auction process had not been fundamentally flawed”.
“I do not believe that the auction process complied with the Consumer Protection Act,” Appelbaum said.