Swiss chemicals company Clariant AG has hired Alexander Gehrt to head its mergers and acquisitions unit. Before taking up the position, Mr Gehrt was a senior UBS Group AG investment banker.

With the rise in M&As in the chemicals sector, Clariant has strategically gotten a seasoned veteran to head its deal-making and treasury activities. While at UBS Alexander Gehrt headed the company’s German M&A division, advising on a number of key deals including the $180bn acquisition of Mannesmann AG by Vodafone PLC in 2000.

This change came a few weeks after DuPont Co and Dow Chemicals agreed to merge to form a $120 billion company.