Health-Care Adviser Leerink Hires Two Bankers From Evercore

(Bloomberg) -- Leerink Partners, an advisory firm specializing in health-care deals, has hired two investment bankers from Evercore Inc.

Bernhard Sakmann and Justin Reed will be joining Leerink and will be based in New York, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. They’ll focus on deals involving medical-device companies, the people said.

A representative for Leerink didn’t respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for Evercore didn’t provide comment.

Sakmann was a senior managing director at Evercore, where he focused on deals involving medical device and life-science tools and diagnostics companies. While at the firm, he advised General Electric Co. on its spinoff of GE Healthcare, IsoPlexis Corp. on its sale to Berkeley Lights Inc. and Abbott Laboratories on the purchases of St. Jude Medical and Alere. Sakmann had joined Evercore in 2014 from Citigroup Inc., according to his LinkedIn profile.

Reed spent about nine years at Evercore, most recently as a managing director. He advised GE on its acquisition of BK Medical and Koninklijke Philips NV on its purchase of BioTelemetry Inc., among other deals. He previously worked at Jefferies Financial Group Inc., his LinkedIn profile shows.

Jeff Leerink founded Leerink in 1995 as a health-care and life sciences-focused advisory firm before selling it to SVB Financial Group in 2019. He and his management team ultimately bought the investment bank back from the bankrupt former owner of Silicon Valley Bank last year.

Leerink has in recent months has added bankers including PJT Partners Inc.’s Tom Davidson as co-president and Timothy Hotchandani from Rothschild & Co.