April 11 (Bloomberg) -- UBS AG's leveraged-finance chief John Sinik quit to join Towerbrook Capital Partners LP, the second top dealmaker to leave an investment bank for private equity in a week.

Sinik, who joined two years ago from Deutsche Bank AG and had also been head of UBS's team advising private-equity firms in Europe, will start in Towerbrook's London office on May 1, the firm said in a statement today. UBS spokesman Dominik von Arx confirmed his departure. A replacement has yet to be named.

``He brings a wealth of experience,'' Towerbrook Co-Chief Executive Officer Ramez Sousou said in the statement. Towerbrook was spun out of George Soros's fund-management business three years ago and is raising its third private-equity and distressed-debt fund.

LBO firms and hedge funds are hiring dealmakers as banks thin their executive ranks after $245 billion of losses on mortgage-related assets. John Coyle quit JPMorgan Chase & Co. last week, where he had led a team that advised buyout firms, to join Permira Advisers LLP, manager of Europe's biggest LBO fund.

TowerBrook has amassed about $1.7 billion for its newest fund, and plans to raise $2.5 billion in total, according to a person with knowledge of the fundraising. The new fund will be almost twice as big as the $1.3 billion pool Towerbrook raised in 2006. A spokeswoman declined to comment on the plans.

Deal History

Led by former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. bankers Sousou and Neal Moszkowski, Towerbrook invests in North American and European companies. Investments have ranged from Swiss cable company Cablecom AG, later sold to John Malone's Liberty Global Inc. for $2.2 billion, to Irish phone company Eircom Group Plc, which went public in March 2004.

Sinik, who previously worked at Barclays Plc, wasn't immediately available to comment. He graduated from the University of Southern California and got an MBA at Harvard Business School, according to Towerbrook.

UBS rose to become the No. 7 adviser on leveraged buyouts globally this year, up from No. 9 in 2007, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Sinik's team advised on Montagu Private Equity LLP's 1.2 billion-pound ($2.4 billion) takeover of British waste company Biffa Plc in February.

On April 1, Zurich-based UBS reported a 12 billion-franc ($11.9 billion) first-quarter loss and said Chairman Marcel Ospel will step down.

To contact the reporter on this story: Edward Evans in London at at eevans3@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: April 11, 2008 06:48 EDT