Chicago-based accounting firm Sikich LLC strengthened its corporate finance practice by snagging two investment bankers from cross-town rival Stout Risius Ross Inc.

Terry Bressler and John Ebe join Sikich Investment Bank as managing director and director, respectively. Both deal pros, Sikich announced Monday, come from SRR where they were last seen advising the sale of cable assembly maker Buse Industries Inc. to Capital For Business Inc., a private investment firm based in St. Louis, Mo., for undisclosed terms.

The team of Bressler and Ebe began the deal at SRR, which the duo left at the beginning of June, Bressler told Mergers & Acquisitions. The deal closed June 30, and they joined Sikich on July 18.

To wit, that was just one of many deal assignments that Bressler and Ebe partnered on over the years.

“Seventy-five percent of our projects we did together,” Bressler said. Not much has changed, Bressler says, adding that he and Ebe are currently working on the recapitalization of a Chicago-based family business. He would not reveal names or details of the parties involved, but disclosed that the deal is expected to close by Sept. 30.

Prior to SRR, Bressler was at the helm of advisory boutique Cleary Gull’s Chicago office. Before that, he held leadership positions at William Blair & Co., McDonald & Co. (now part of Key Bank), First Chicago Capital Markets (now JP Morgan Chase) and investment fund advisor William Blair Mezzanine Capital Partners.

Ebe, before SRR, was a director at LSC Healthcare Partners, an investment banking boutique focused on healthcare, and a vice president of middle market finance firm Heller Financial’s M&A group, which he helped launch.