Cobalt Corporate Finance, an European corporate finance adviser, has recruited Chris Williams, former corporate finance partner and global head of TMT (technology, media and telecommunications) at professionals services firm Deloitte, as its newest partner.

Cobalt Corporate Finance, an European corporate finance adviser, has recruited Chris Williams, former corporate finance partner and global head of TMT (technology, media and telecommunications) at professionals services firm Deloitte, as its newest partner.

Williams brings ten years’ experience leading transactions and international teams at Deloitte and Andersen as well as business development experience in the TMT sector.

He has led more than 50 TMT transactions ranging in size from the $15 million (£7.6 million) sale to TMNG Global of Cartesian to the $649 million sale of Singlepoint to Vodafone.

Cobalt managing partner Paddy MccGwire says that the appointment comes as the firm intends to ramp up its plans to develop in the TMT sector.

According to Cobalt’s latest quarterly analysis of activity in the sector in the UK and Ireland, deal activity in the TMT sector has proved particularly buoyant with technology venture capital investment increasing both in value and number of transactions during 2006.

The full survey reveals that technology venture capital investment jumped 33 per cent in 2006 with £590 million invested in 127 deals, up from £445 million in 111 deals the previous year.