Another former Bear Stearns Cos. banker has landed.

John Fargis, one of 98 senior managing directors forced to find a new home when Bear imploded, has turned up at Jefferies & Co. as its new head of U.S. media investment banking. Fargis, 42, would not comment on whether he turned down a position at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., but sources say he was not one of the 38 senior bankers with an offer in hand from Bear's new parent.

Indeed, Fargis' move to Jefferies reflects the state of hiring on Wall Street today. "In normal times, nobody was leaving a Bear Stearns to go to a Jefferies," another ex-Bear banker says. "It's terrible now, but there's never been such good talent available for the second- and third-tier firms as there is now. Guys like Fargis, they are an upgrade."

Fargis, who spent 14 years at Bear Stearns, began talking with Alec Ellison, Jefferies' chairman of telecom, media and technology and co-head of investment banking, after Bear's fall and liked its middle-market focus. "I very quickly became intrigued but excited about what Jefferies was doing," he says. "Here there is also a capability of large-cap accounts, but there's also the capability of small and midsize accounts." At Bear, Fargis' largest deals included advising Thomson Corp. in its £8.7 billion ($17.2 billion) takeover of Reuters Group plc in 2007. Other clients include R.H. Donnelley Inc., Idearc Inc., American Media Inc. and Journal Register Co.

Jefferies has been expanding its media coverage since its purchase last year of London-based LongAcre Partners, a mediacentric boutique founded by Jonathan Goodwin, now global head of Jefferies' media investment banking group. Goodwin says he's been looking for someone to grow Jefferies' U.S. media business. "John complements very much in terms of his background in publishing information, and he's a veteran in that area in the U.S.," says Goodwin.

At Jefferies, Fargis oversees a team of 10 bankers, and he just hired two junior bankers from Bear. "We have core strength in the Internet and digital media, and part of my mandate is to grow the traditional media area," Fargis says, noting that growth areas include business information and local content. Beyond dealmaking, he says what drew him to Jefferies is the culture. "The hallmark of the style here is to be an outbound kind of banker. Everyone is trying to grow this franchise," he says. And he's found that his move to a smaller, or so-called second-tier, firm hasn't fazed his clients. "Honestly I haven't had anyone yet say 'Who?' " he says. "The name is sort of well known and there's a very strong perception about it."