Jefferies has hired two senior Deutsche Bank equity dealmakers, another sign that competition for talent in the sector is heating up amid a surge of initial public offerings and blank-cheque companies.

The US investment bank has taken on Andrew Yaeger and Paul Stowell, two veterans of the German lender, according to people with knowledge of the hires. The recruits follow a record quarter for Jefferies’ equity underwriting unit, which nearly tripled to $495m during the first quarter of 2021.