Lincoln International, an investment banking advisory firm, added three leaders specializing in mergers and acquisitions advisory for the healthcare sector to its office in Frankfurt, Germany. Dirk Loeffler joined as managing director and head of healthcare for the DACH region and Julian Knirim and Jens Gerlach joined as directors. All three will advise shareholders, management teams and financial sponsors on private and public M&A transactions in the global healthcare sector.

“We are very pleased to have this talented group join our growing healthcare team,” Michael Drill, managing director and CEO for Lincoln International, said. “Demand in the dynamic healthcare industry is high among corporate and private equity investors. Dirk, Julian and Jens will work with our existing healthcare experts in capitalizing on that momentum in Germany and across Europe.”

Loeffler has 17 years of experience providing M&A advisory to clients across the healthcare industry, with a focus in the healthcare services, medical technology, diagnostics, specialty pharmaceuticals and digital health sectors. He has executed sell-side and buy-side M&A transactions for private equity clients, publicly-traded companies and privately-held and family-owned businesses. Prior to joining Lincoln International, Loeffler was a managing director at Raymond James, where he led the Frankfurt office and built out its European healthcare activities. Previously, he was a partner at Richmond Park Partners and head of M&A at Berenberg as one of the most senior investment bankers.

Also joining from Raymond James are Knirim and Gerlach.

Knirim focuses on healthcare services, medtech, healthcare information technology, pharmaceuticals and dental sectors. Prior to Raymond James, Knirim was an M&A banker at Richmond Park Partners and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Gerlach has worked with companies in the hospital, rehab, physician practices, nursing and home care sectors. He also has gained experience in healthcare software and equipment manufacturing sectors. Prior to Raymond James, Gerlach worked in the investment banking division at Citigroup and in Berenberg’s corporate finance practice.

“The addition of Dirk, Julian and Jens further provides clients with the best-of-breed thinking and experience that has become well-known from Lincoln International’s global healthcare group,” Friedrich Bieselt, managing director and board member of Lincoln International, said.

Lincoln International has completed more than 45 healthcare transactions in the last 18 months and has more than 30 dedicated healthcare officers worldwide.