(Bloomberg) -- Jefferies Financial Group Inc. is hiring Birger Berendes, one of Bank of America Crop.’s most-prominent rainmakers in Europe, and Citigroup Inc.’s Michael Borch, to help bolster its dealmaking business in the region, people familiar with the matter said.

Berendes is set to join Jefferies as continental European head of mergers and acquisitions, the people said, declining to be identified because the information is private. He has been with Bank of America since 2014 and was most recently co-head for M&A for EMEA, his LinkedIn profile shows. He also led corporate defense and activist engagement across the region.

The 49-year-old banker has helped the American lender expand its dealmaking in the German speaking region in the past couple of years, advising on deals including Schaeffler AG’s takeover of Vitesco Technologies Group AG, EQT AB’s sale of Schülke & Mayr AG, as well as Bain Capital’s aborted attempt to take SoftwareOne Holding AG private.

Borch is joining Jefferies as EMEA and Asia head of transportation and logistics investment banking and will be based in London, the people said. Borch has been with Citi for almost 19 years, and was most recently co-head of global transportation, splitting his time between London and Hong Kong. He started his investment banking career with JPMorgan Chase & Co. in 1987, his LinkedIn profile shows.

Representatives for Bank of America, Citi and Jefferies declined to comment.

The moves come as Jefferies Chief Executive Officer Richard Handler hires aggressively from banks across Wall Street to build a franchise rivaling JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley among others. Alex De Souza is joining Jefferies as co-head of UK and Ireland investment banking, Bloomberg News reported last month. In March, Vincent Thiebaud joined from Bank of America to lead its Swiss investment banking.

Shares in Jefferies jumped to the highest level since 2008 this week after its fiscal second-quarter results showed a rise in profits. 

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