Eric Fellhauer, a German M&A coverage banker with Merrill Lynch, has left to join Carlyle in Munich, where the firm has established its global automotive team after four deals in the sector.

Carlyle, the international private equity firm, now has eight buy-out specialists in Munich, each of them covering automotive. The firm made Munich a centre of expertise for its interest in the automotive industry after it acquired four companies in the sector - Edscha, Beru, Honsel International Technologies and Amcan, a Canadian company it merged with Honsel.