Gabriel L. Valdes

GABRIEL (GABY) VALDES counsels clients on mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, divestitures, and other corporate transactions involving primarily private equity sponsors, fundless sponsors, family offices, and other public and private companies. He also advises clients on a broad range of non-transactional corporate, governance, and strategic planning matters, bringing a practical, solutions-oriented approach informed by his work with a wide range of clients and industries. In addition, Gaby regularly represents private credit funds, hedge funds, and other alternative asset managers in connection with management company governance and operational matters, fund structuring and formation, and related securities and regulatory issues.

Gaby is a founding partner of the firm’s Miami office, a member of the Miami office’s Recruiting Committee, a member of the firm’s Evaluation and Compensation of Associates Committee, and member of the team that oversees Deal Ready, the firm’s national corporate associate training program. He is also a member of the firm’s Chambers-ranked Automotive and Mobility Leadership Committee comprised of lawyers from around the world in various practice areas dedicated to driving the firm’s growth in the automotive and mobility sector. 

Gaby’s leadership and experience in M&A and Private Equity has earned him recognition from industry publications, including:

• Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA), “Rising Star” (2025)
• Latino Leaders, “Top Latino Lawyers” (2025)
• Hispanic National Bar Association, “Top Lawyer Under 40” Award (2024)
• Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America® for Corporate Law and Mergers and Acquisitions Law (2024–2026)
• Latino Leaders, “Rising Stars Lawyers” (2023–2024)
• Super Lawyers, “Rising Star” (2023)
• Daily Business Review Florida Legal Awards, “On the Rise” (2023)
• Daily Business Review, Deal Maker, M&A (2014)
• Daily Business Review, Deal Maker, Finance (2014)

Outside of the firm, he is an adjunct professor of law at the University of Miami School of Law, where he teaches a course on drafting and negotiating private equity documents, and a volunteer little league baseball coach at Howard Palmetto Baseball & Softball Association.

• Multiple private credit, hedge fund, and other alternative asset managers in connection with management company governance and operational matters, fund structuring and formation, and related securities and regulatory issues.
• Nice-Pak Products, Inc., a leading manufacturer and distributor of consumer sanitary wipes, in its combination with Vivos Holdings, LLC, a consumer packaged goods holding company and portfolio company of Emprise Group Inc.
• Leavitt Equity Partners in its acquisition of AMI Expeditionary Healthcare, LLC, a healthcare support company that delivers tailored healthcare solutions and services to all levels of government, international organizations, humanitarian aid and the private sector worldwide.
• CareMax, Inc. (NASDAQ: CMAX; CMAXW), a leading technology-enabled value-based care delivery system, in connection with CareMax’s announced prearranged chapter 11 plan, in its sale of its (1) core medical centers’ assets including a vast majority of CareMax’s operating clinics to Revelstoke Capital-backed ClareMedica Health Partners, and (2) management services organization, including one of the largest Medicare ACOs in the country to Kinderhook-backed Revere Medical.
• OppFi Inc. (NYSE: OPFI), a tech-enabled specialty finance platform, in its strategic acquisition of a 35% equity interest in Bitty Advance, a credit access company offering revenue-based financing and other working capital solutions to small businesses.
• AIM Capital, LLC, a Miami-based private equity firm in its acquisition of a Florida portfolio of 46 Popeyes franchise stores.
• Five Points Family Ventures and one of its portfolio companies in the sale of the portfolio company’s vehicle GPS tracking products division to a middle market private equity firm.
• JM Family Enterprises and its portfolio company, Futura Title & Escrow, LLC, the largest independent title and escrow group in the Pacific Northwest, in its acquisition of Momentum Title Agency, LLC which serves counties located in and around the Louisville Metro area in Kentucky and Indiana.
• Sole Source Capital LLC, an industrial-focused private equity firm, and its portfolio company, Peak Technologies, the leading solution provider in the Automatic Identification and Data Capture (“AIDC”) market, in its acquisition of North Coast Technical, a leading provider of machine vision hardware and image processing software for Fortune 500 companies along with small and medium-sized businesses.
• Unybrands, an e-commerce platform that acquires successful fulfillment by Amazon and direct-to-consumer sellers looking to scale, in its acquisition of a global personal care brand.
• H.I.G. Capital, in a number of significant transactions, including its:
  • Acquisition of Load One, LLC, a logistics company and one of the largest expedited fleet carriers in North America.
  • Original acquisition of Empire Today, LLC, a home improvement and home furnishing company, and its subsequent sale to Charlesbank Capital Partners.
  • Acquisition of Lipari Foods Operating Co., a distributor of deli, bakery, dairy, specialty retail, seafood, ethnic, and organic foods, from Sterling Investment Partners.
  • Sale of Lexmark Carpet Mills, Inc., a leading producer of broadloom carpet primarily for the hospitality market, to Tarkett S.A.
  • Sale of Accupac, Inc., a leading U.S. provider of outsourced manufacturing and packaging solutions to the world’s largest pharmaceutical and over-the-counter personal care product manufacturer, to J.H. Whitney Capital Partners.
  • Sale of Amerijet Holdings, Inc., a leading provider of cargo and logistics solutions to Latin America and the Caribbean, to an affiliate of ZS Fund L.P.
  • Acquisition of Just Home Healthcare Services, a New Jersey-based cooperative of nonprofit agencies focused on providing long-term care to adults and children.
  • Acquisition of Northstar Psychological Services, Inc., a leading provider of community-based behavioral health services to individuals and families across Georgia.
  • Acquisition of Futures Behavior Therapy Center, LLC, a company specializing in the delivery of high-quality clinical care to children, adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorders.
• Comvest Partners, in a number of significant transactions, including its:
  • Original acquisition of D&S Residential Services, a leading nationwide provider of residential services and supports for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and subsequent sale to The Mentor Network, a Centerbridge Partners portfolio company.
  • Acquisition of Coats & Clark, Inc., the North American Crafts business of Coats Group plc, by Spinrite, a Comvest portfolio company and leading craft company.
  • Acquisition of Dura Medic, a leading provider of durable medical equipment cost elimination solutions to hospitals and health systems.
  • Acquisition of Systems Control, a best-in-class designer and manufacturer of customized, highly engineered control panels and electrical substation equipment enclosures for the transmission and distribution industry.
  • Acquisition of RugsUSA, a leading e-commerce retailer and supplier of area rugs and other home décor products.
  • Acquisition of Lasko Holdings, a market-leading manufacturer of high-performance home comfort products such as portable fans, portable heaters, air purifiers, and humidifiers.
• Martis Capital, in a number of significant transactions, including its:
  • Formation of Alcanza Clinical Research and subsequent acquisitions of (1) Boston Clinical Trials, LLC, an independent, multi-specialty clinical research center located in Boston, Massachusetts, and (2) Coastal Carolina Research Center, LLC, an independent, multi-specialty clinical research center located in South Carolina.
  • Original acquisition of Care Hospice, Inc., a national provider of hospice care services, and subsequent sale to Thomas H. Lee Partners.
  • Original acquisition of Altruista Health, Inc., a leading payor care management software platform, and subsequent sale to HealthEdge Software, a Blackstone affiliate.
  • Original acquisition of Healthy Living Network, a leading provider of home health services, and subsequent sale to Mission Healthcare, a portfolio company of the Vistria Group.
  • Original acquisition and subsequent business combination of Credible Behavioral Health, a leading provider of web-based software as a service for clinic, community, residential and mobile care providers, with Qualifacts Systems, Inc., a Warburg Pincus portfolio company.
• Blue Sea Capital, in its acquisitions of:
  • Krueger-Gilbert Health Physics, Inc. (n/k/a Apex Physics Partners), a leading diagnostic medical physics services platform, and its subsequent acquisition of Radcom Associates, LLC, a provider of services in radiation safety, diagnostic radiological physics, and nuclear medicine physics.
  • Signature MD, Inc., a concierge health company.
  • WillowWood Global, a leading prosthetics platform, from DW Healthcare Partners.
• Validor Capital, in its acquisitions of:
  • The Marwin Company, an Ohio-based manufacturer of high-quality pressed steel products, which provides critical parts for the manufacturing industry throughout the United States and across the world.
  • The Boehm Pressed Steel Co., a South Carolina-based manufacturer of quality building specialties, including folding attic stairways, bi-fold doors, mirror bi-folds & by-pass units and pocket door frames.
  • BICO Steel, a highly specialized processor of heavy carbon steel plate and forged specialty alloy steel with operations in Akron, Ohio, and Grand Rapids, Michigan.
• Hidden Harbor Capital Partners, in its acquisitions of:
  • Monster Transmission LLC and Thor Converters LLC, distributors and remanufacturers of high-performance automotive gear based in Florida.
  • Anchor Danly, a leading North American manufacturer and distributor of critical industrial tooling and related components and provider of metal fabrication services to tool and mold companies and other industrial OEMs.
• Care Hospice, Inc., a portfolio company of Thomas H. Lee Partners, in its acquisitions of dozens of hospice and palliative care providers across the United States.
• Ardent Investors, LLC, in its acquisition of Solar Light Company, LLC, and Optronic Laboratories, LLC, providers of products that measure light and solar radiation for consumer, research, and laboratory applications.
• Festival Fun Parks, LLC, d/b/a Palace Entertainment, a subsidiary of Parques Reunidos Servicios Centrales, SA, a leading international entertainment operator, in its sale of Miami Seaquarium to MS Leisure Company, a subsidiary of The Dolphin Company.

Some of the above matters were handled prior to joining Sidley.

• Adrienne Arsht Center Trust (AACT) Board of Directors
• University of Miami School of Law, Adjunct Professor
• Howard Palmetto Baseball & Softball Association, Volunteer Coach
• Legal Services of Greater Miami, Leaders’ Council
• Hispanic Scholarship Fund, Miami Advisory Council
• Hispanic National Bar Association
• Cuban American Bar Association