Dennise Martinez
Associate
Dennise Martinez is an associate in the San Francisco office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, where her practice focuses primarily on mergers and acquisitions. She advises both public and private clients in mergers, tender offers, asset acquisitions, stock purchases, and other strategic corporate transactions.
Prior to attending law school, Dennise taught high school math in southern Texas through Teach for America.
Experience
Dennise Martinez is an associate in the San Francisco office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, where her practice focuses primarily on mergers and acquisitions. She advises both public and private clients in mergers, tender offers, asset acquisitions, stock purchases, and other strategic corporate transactions.
Prior to attending law school, Dennise taught high school math in southern Texas through Teach for America.
Education
- J.D., UC Berkeley School of Law, 2016Business Law Certificate; Senior Supervising Editor, California Law Review; Co-Editor-in-Chief, Berkeley Business Law Journal; Recipient, American Jurisprudence Award
- B.B.A., Accountancy, University of Notre Dame, 2011Cum Laude
Admissions
- State Bar of California
Credentials
Education
- J.D., UC Berkeley School of Law, 2016Business Law Certificate; Senior Supervising Editor, California Law Review; Co-Editor-in-Chief, Berkeley Business Law Journal; Recipient, American Jurisprudence Award
- B.B.A., Accountancy, University of Notre Dame, 2011Cum Laude
Admissions
- State Bar of California
Select Matters
- Twitter in its $44 billion announced sale to entities affiliated with Elon Musk
- Alteryx in its $4.4 billion announced sale to Insight and Clearlake
- Poly in its $3.3 billion announced sale to HP
- Momentive Global in its proposed, but terminated, $4.1 billion all-stock acquisition by Zendesk
- Woodward in its $6.4 billion announced merger of equals with Hexcel
- Pacific Biosciences of California in its proposed, but terminated, $1.2 billion acquisition by Illumina
- Gainsight in its $1.1 billion announced sale to Vista Equity Partners
- Lumentum Holdings in its $750 million acquisition of Cloud Light Technology Limited
- Pacific Biosciences of California in its acquisitions of Omniome and Circulomics
- LinkedIn Corporation in its acquisition of Drawbridge
- GoFundMe in its acquisition of Classy
- Stripe in its acquisition of Bouncer
- Udemy in its acquisition of CorpU
- Box in its acquisition of multiple companies
Matters
Select Matters
- Twitter in its $44 billion announced sale to entities affiliated with Elon Musk
- Alteryx in its $4.4 billion announced sale to Insight and Clearlake
- Poly in its $3.3 billion announced sale to HP
- Momentive Global in its proposed, but terminated, $4.1 billion all-stock acquisition by Zendesk
- Woodward in its $6.4 billion announced merger of equals with Hexcel
- Pacific Biosciences of California in its proposed, but terminated, $1.2 billion acquisition by Illumina
- Gainsight in its $1.1 billion announced sale to Vista Equity Partners
- Lumentum Holdings in its $750 million acquisition of Cloud Light Technology Limited
- Pacific Biosciences of California in its acquisitions of Omniome and Circulomics
- LinkedIn Corporation in its acquisition of Drawbridge
- GoFundMe in its acquisition of Classy
- Stripe in its acquisition of Bouncer
- Udemy in its acquisition of CorpU
- Box in its acquisition of multiple companies
Focus Areas
Recent Insights
Client Highlights
Wilson Sonsini Advises Beam Benefits on Acquisition by Principal Financial Group
On July 7, 2026, Principal Financial Group announced an agreement to acquire Beam Benefits, an employee benefits company serving more than 25,000 small businesses. Principal currently serves 180,000 employers, providing comprehensive retirement, benefits, and business owner solutions. The acquisition is expected to close in the latter half of 2026, subject to the completion of customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati advised Beam Benefits on the transaction.
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Client Highlights
Wilson Sonsini Advises Saturnus Bio on Strategic Collaboration with Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany
On June 23, 2026, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, a leading global science and technology company, announced a strategic collaboration with Versant Ventures to launch Saturnus Bio, a next-generation precision cardiology company that utilizes targeted gene modulation to address rare mono-genetic cardiomyopathies with significant unmet need. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati advised Saturnus Bio on the transaction.
The research-stage partnership entails a build-to-buy deal structure, including an upfront payment of $50 million from Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany to fund Saturnus Bio’s research activities, securing a minority equity stake in the company, as well as additional success-based preclinical milestones, supporting the development of novel drug candidates for genetic cardiomyopathy patients. Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany has exclusive rights to acquire Saturnus Bio for a pre-determined option payment, in addition to success-based earnouts.
The Wilson Sonsini team that advised Saturnus Bio on the transaction includes:
The research-stage partnership entails a build-to-buy deal structure, including an upfront payment of $50 million from Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany to fund Saturnus Bio’s research activities, securing a minority equity stake in the company, as well as additional success-based preclinical milestones, supporting the development of novel drug candidates for genetic cardiomyopathy patients. Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany has exclusive rights to acquire Saturnus Bio for a pre-determined option payment, in addition to success-based earnouts.
The Wilson Sonsini team that advised Saturnus Bio on the transaction includes:
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