Brendan R. Mahan

Brendan Ripley Mahan

Partner

Mergers & Acquisitions

Diverse M&A Experience

Brendan advises clients across a wide range of industries and stages of growth, from emerging companies to large multinational corporations. His practice spans public and private mergers, carve-outs, joint ventures, and minority and controlling investments, among other structures. This diversity of experience informs his strategic, pragmatic approach to deal execution.
Experienced Dealmaker

Brendan is a trusted advisor on complex, high-stakes transactions. He has successfully structured and negotiated hundreds of strategic transactions and regularly counsels companies, boards of directors, and senior management teams on matters requiring sound judgment and practical solutions.

Brendan Ripley Mahan is a partner in Wilson Sonsini’s mergers and acquisitions group. He advises public and private companies, boards of directors, and senior management teams on strategic transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, carve-outs, joint ventures, and minority and controlling investments. His work spans domestic and cross-border matters in North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. Brendan primarily represents clients in the technology and life sciences sectors and also advises companies in the fintech, enterprise software, e-commerce, cybersecurity, and semiconductor industries, among others.

Brendan’s practical counsel is informed by prior experience in capital markets and syndicated lending practices, allowing him to successfully navigate complex financial and structural issues.

Brendan serves on the firm’s Career Development Committee.

Prior to joining Wilson Sonsini, Brendan practiced in the corporate group of Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York and clerked for Deputy Chief Justice Mary Noble of the Supreme Court of Kentucky.

Experience

Brendan’s practical counsel is informed by prior experience in capital markets and syndicated lending practices, allowing him to successfully navigate complex financial and structural issues.

Brendan serves on the firm’s Career Development Committee.

Prior to joining Wilson Sonsini, Brendan practiced in the corporate group of Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York and clerked for Deputy Chief Justice Mary Noble of the Supreme Court of Kentucky.

Education

J.D., Cornell Law SchoolCum Laude
B.A., Economics, Western Washington UniversityMagna Cum Laude

Admissions

State Bar of New York
State Bar of Washington

Credentials

Education

J.D., Cornell Law SchoolCum Laude
B.A., Economics, Western Washington UniversityMagna Cum Laude

Admissions

State Bar of New York
State Bar of Washington

Representative Transactions

Acxiom in its $2.3 billion sale of its Marketing Solutions business to IPG
Ampere in its $6.5 billion sale to SoftBank Group
Blue Nile in its $500 million sale to Bain Capital
CloudSimple and Pointy in their sales to Google
DoorDash in multiple acquisition transactions
Fastball in its $4.175 billion sale of a minority stake in FanDuel to Flutter
Mastercard in its acquisition of NuData Security
Mulesoft in its $6.5 billion sale to Salesforce
Nutanix in multiple acquisition transactions
Peloton Therapeutics in its up to $2.2 billion sale to Merck
Pismo in its $1 billion sale to Visa
Skyscanner in its £1.4 billion acquisition of Trip.com
Twilio in multiple acquisition transactions
Veeva in multiple acquisition transactions
Zscaler in multiple acquisition transactions

Matters

Representative Transactions

Acxiom in its $2.3 billion sale of its Marketing Solutions business to IPG
Ampere in its $6.5 billion sale to SoftBank Group
Blue Nile in its $500 million sale to Bain Capital
CloudSimple and Pointy in their sales to Google
DoorDash in multiple acquisition transactions
Fastball in its $4.175 billion sale of a minority stake in FanDuel to Flutter
Mastercard in its acquisition of NuData Security
Mulesoft in its $6.5 billion sale to Salesforce
Nutanix in multiple acquisition transactions
Peloton Therapeutics in its up to $2.2 billion sale to Merck
Pismo in its $1 billion sale to Visa
Skyscanner in its £1.4 billion acquisition of Trip.com
Twilio in multiple acquisition transactions
Veeva in multiple acquisition transactions
Zscaler in multiple acquisition transactions

Select Speaking Engagements

Panelist, “Growth Through Acquisition: Buy Side Overview and Insights,” Fall 2025 M&A Bootcamp, Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center Webinar, October 24, 2025
Panelist, “M&A Strategy for Early-to-Mid-Stage Entrepreneurs,” Fall 2024 M&A Bootcamp, Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center Webinar, August 28, 2024
Panelist, “M&A Strategy for Early-to-Mid-Stage Entrepreneurs,” Winter 2023 M&A Bootcamp, Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center Webinar, February 22, 2023

Insights

Select Speaking Engagements

Panelist, “Growth Through Acquisition: Buy Side Overview and Insights,” Fall 2025 M&A Bootcamp, Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center Webinar, October 24, 2025
Panelist, “M&A Strategy for Early-to-Mid-Stage Entrepreneurs,” Fall 2024 M&A Bootcamp, Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center Webinar, August 28, 2024
Panelist, “M&A Strategy for Early-to-Mid-Stage Entrepreneurs,” Winter 2023 M&A Bootcamp, Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center Webinar, February 22, 2023

Recent Insights

Client Highlights

On April 17, 2026, UCB, a global biopharmaceutical company, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement under which UCB would acquire Neurona Therapeutics, including lead asset NRTX-1001, adding to UCB’s epilepsy portfolio. Neurona Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotherapeutics company focused on advancing regenerative cell therapies for epilepsies and other disorders of the nervous system. Under the terms of the agreement, UCB will pay $650 million upfront and up to $500 million in potential future milestone payments, subject to certain closing conditions. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati advised Neurona on the transaction.

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Client Highlights

On April 7, 2026, a group of investors led by professional golfer Bryson DeChambeau announced its acquisition of Sportsbox AI, a leader in kinematic AI technology and 3D motion capture for coaching and training across mobile sports and fitness applications. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati advised Sportsbox on the transaction.

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Recent Events

Affiliated Programs

Wilson Sonsini is a proud sponsor of The L Suite TechGC Nexus 2026, a marquee annual gathering of general counsel and chief legal officers from high-growth, venture-backed and public technology companies and venture funds. Attendees will have opportunities to exchange candid insights on how to help drive their companies’ growth in a new era of technology and risk.

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Affiliated Programs

We are excited to invite you to the second webinar in the Fall 2025 Bootcamp series. In partnership with the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center and KPMG, we will share best practices to help start-ups position themselves for future M&A opportunities and explore winning strategies for successful transitions.

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