Ross J. Tanaka

Ross J. Tanaka

Partner

Mergers & Acquisitions

Expert in M&A and Strategic Transactions

Ross is a strategic advisor who counsels boards of directors and management teams on their most challenging issues. He has significant experience with M&A and corporate governance matters, particularly in the technology and life sciences industries, including mergers and acquisitions, tender and exchange offers, asset acquisitions, divestitures and business carve-outs, equity investments, and joint ventures and other strategic partnerships.
Experienced Dealmaker

Ross’s recent transactional experience includes announced or completed M&A and other strategic transactions valued at over $90 billion in the aggregate.

Ross Tanaka is a partner in the mergers and acquisitions practice of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. Ross advises public and private companies on mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, financing transactions, and other corporate and securities law matters. His transaction experience includes mergers, business combinations, asset and stock purchases, divestitures, carve-outs and spin-off transactions, private equity and venture financing transactions, joint ventures, and other strategic transactions.

Experience

Education

J.D., University of Washington School of Law, 2015With Honors; Articles Editor, Washington Law Review; Recipient, Vivian A. Carkeek Prize
B.A., English, Pomona College, 2011Recipient, F.S. Jennings Memorial Prize

Admissions

State Bar of Washington

Credentials

Education

J.D., University of Washington School of Law, 2015With Honors; Articles Editor, Washington Law Review; Recipient, Vivian A. Carkeek Prize
B.A., English, Pomona College, 2011Recipient, F.S. Jennings Memorial Prize

Admissions

State Bar of Washington

Select Matters

Infinera’s pending $2.3 billion acquisition by Nokia
VIZIO in its pending $2.3 billion acquisition by Walmart
Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. in its $1.9 billion sale to Alaska Airlines Group, Inc.
DTx Pharma, Inc. in its sale to Novartis for a $500 million upfront payment and an additional $500 million in milestone payments
Sumo Logic, Inc. in its $1.7 billion sale to Francisco Partners
ForgeRock, Inc. in its $2.3 billion sale to Thoma Bravo
Twitter, Inc. in its $44 billion sale to Elon Musk
Zynga Inc. in its $12.7 billion sale to Take-Two Interactive, Inc.
Encora Holdings Limited in its approximately $1.5 billion sale to Advent International
Twitter, Inc., in the $1.05 billion sale of its MoPub mobile ad network to Applovin Corporation
Ally.io in its sale to Microsoft Corporation
Box, Inc. in its $500 million preferred stock investment led by KKR
Inspirato LLC in its $1.07 billion de-SPAC merger with Thayer Ventures Acquisition Corp.
Spire Global, Inc., in its $1.1 billion de-SPAC merger with NavSight Holdings, Inc.
Nautilus Biotechnology in its $900 million de-SPAC merger with Arya Sciences Acquisition Corp. III
DoorDash, Inc. in its acquisition of Chowbotics, Inc.
Text IQ, Inc. in its sale to Relativity ODA LLC
Ipsy in its acquisition of Boxy Charm, Inc.
Jitterbit, Inc. in its sale to Audax Private Equity
Mastercard International in its acquisition of Transactis, Inc.

Matters

Select Matters

Infinera’s pending $2.3 billion acquisition by Nokia
VIZIO in its pending $2.3 billion acquisition by Walmart
Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. in its $1.9 billion sale to Alaska Airlines Group, Inc.
DTx Pharma, Inc. in its sale to Novartis for a $500 million upfront payment and an additional $500 million in milestone payments
Sumo Logic, Inc. in its $1.7 billion sale to Francisco Partners
ForgeRock, Inc. in its $2.3 billion sale to Thoma Bravo
Twitter, Inc. in its $44 billion sale to Elon Musk
Zynga Inc. in its $12.7 billion sale to Take-Two Interactive, Inc.
Encora Holdings Limited in its approximately $1.5 billion sale to Advent International
Twitter, Inc., in the $1.05 billion sale of its MoPub mobile ad network to Applovin Corporation
Ally.io in its sale to Microsoft Corporation
Box, Inc. in its $500 million preferred stock investment led by KKR
Inspirato LLC in its $1.07 billion de-SPAC merger with Thayer Ventures Acquisition Corp.
Spire Global, Inc., in its $1.1 billion de-SPAC merger with NavSight Holdings, Inc.
Nautilus Biotechnology in its $900 million de-SPAC merger with Arya Sciences Acquisition Corp. III
DoorDash, Inc. in its acquisition of Chowbotics, Inc.
Text IQ, Inc. in its sale to Relativity ODA LLC
Ipsy in its acquisition of Boxy Charm, Inc.
Jitterbit, Inc. in its sale to Audax Private Equity
Mastercard International in its acquisition of Transactis, Inc.

Recent Insights

Client Highlights

On October 21, 2024, Sophos and Secureworks, two global leaders of innovative security solutions for defeating cyberattacks, announced a definitive agreement for Sophos to acquire Secureworks. The all-cash transaction is valued at approximately $859 million. Sophos is backed by Thoma Bravo, a leading software investment firm. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati advised Piper Sandler & Company, which served as a financial advisor to Secureworks on the transaction.

Learn More

Client Highlights

On October 21, 2024, financial infrastructure platform Stripe confirmed that it is acquiring stablecoin infrastructure provider Bridge. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati advised Stripe on the transaction.

“Stablecoins are room-temperature superconductors for financial services. Thanks to stablecoins, businesses around the world will benefit from significant speed, coverage, and cost improvements in the coming years. Stripe is going to build the world’s best stablecoin infrastructure, and, to that end, we are delighted to welcome Bridge to Stripe,” wrote Stripe CEO Patrick Collison on X.

The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions, is expected to close in the coming months.

The Wilson Sonsini team that advised Stripe on the transaction includes:

Learn More