Morgan Stanley has poached Sebastian Bladt from JPMorgan Chase to bolster its M&A presence in German-speaking markets. Bladt, who led JPMorgan's M&A execution for Germany and Austria, will join Morgan Stanley in a coverage role later this year. The move follows the bank's appointment of former German finance minister Joerg Kukies as country head for Germany and Austria.

At JPMorgan, Bladt advised on major transactions including Volkswagen's sale of Everllence, Innio's planned IPO, and Siemens Healthineers' $16 billion acquisition of Varian Medical Systems. His hiring reflects Morgan Stanley's aggressive expansion into Germany's financial hub, with recent deals involving Anta Sports' 29% stake purchase in Puma and the planned sale of GBA Group.

The Wall Street firm currently ranks sixth as an M&A adviser in Germany this year, trailing competitors in Europe's largest economy. Morgan Stanley has been growing its Frankfurt workforce while opening a Munich office to better serve clients in technology, private equity and industrial sectors, signaling its commitment to capturing more European deal flow.