Jun 16, 2026 – 7.29pmThe bidder crowd around Pickles, Australia’s largest marketplace for used assets, is growing, with at least one cashed-up buyer preparing to raise its paddle.Private capital juggernaut Blackstone is working on a tilt for the Apax Partners-owned asset, which was put on the auction block via Barrenjoey Capital Partners last month, said people involved in the mooted deal, who requested to remain anonymous.Sarah Thompson has co-edited Street Talk since 2009, specialising in private equity, investment banking, M&A and equity capital markets stories. Prior to that, she spent 10 years in London as a markets and M&A reporter at Bloomberg and Dow Jones.Kanika Sood is a journalist based in Sydney who writes for the Street Talk column.Emma Rapaport is a co-editor of the Street Talk column. Prior to that, she was a markets reporter at The Australian Financial Review.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber?
Ex-REA boss Owen Wilson driving Blackstone’s tilt at Pickles
While most of the larger buyout firms would be expected to at least run the numbers on an asset of this size, Blackstone has a secret weapon in its cache.
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