According to a Bloomberg report, sources told the news agency that Britain's oldest private equity firm 3i Group Plc has been looking for dealmakers to be hired as associates for its private equity teams in the UK and Germany. Both UK and Germany were regarded as two potential markets for profitable buyouts, the unidentified sources said. Two of the sources also added that the firm had informal talks with candidates who would be up for a senior role based in London.

The news about the hiring came after over a year of employee cuts made by the British firm in order to reduce corporate debt. The company's gross debt was reportedly just below GBP1 billion or USD1.6 billion. Since June of last year, 3i under Chief Executive Officer Simon Borrows had laid off 160 employees, which was a third of its staff. The company had also closed 6 of its 19 offices.

As per the company's recent quarterly report, the goal to reduce company debt was met by June 30. The firm also turned itself around and had been making investments in order to encourage confidence in investors for a new capital pool. Early this month, the company announced a EUR77 million or USD103 million investment in German automotive equipment maker GIF.

When asked for comment, a London-based spokeswoman for 3i declined to provide a statement.