US LNG player brings Jamaican assets into its fold

Excelerate Energy, a U.S.-headquartered liquefied natural gas (LNG) firm, has enlarged its asset portfolio by wrapping up the acquisition of an integrated LNG and power platform in Jamaica, previously owned by New Fortress Energy (NFE), a compatriot energy infrastructure player.

After a sale and purchase deal from March 2025, Excelerate has closed its acquisition of New Fortress Energy’s business in Jamaica, thanks to a $1.055 billion cash transaction. This enabled the former to enlarge its existing portfolio with assets and operations of the Montego Bay LNG terminal, Old Harbour LNG terminal, and the Clarendon combined heat and power plant.

The U.S. LNG player raised approximately $1 billion in equity and debt financing to fund the acquisition and completed an equity offering of 8 million shares of Class A common stock in the second quarter of 2025 at a price per share of $26.50 for $212 million of gross proceeds.

In addition, Excelerate closed an $800 million offering of 8.000% senior unsecured notes due in 2030. With the completion of the acquisition, the maturity of the firm’s senior secured revolving credit facility was extended from March 2027 to March 2029, increasing the total capacity available for borrowing from $350 million to $500 million.

Steven Kobos, President and CEO of Excelerate, commented: “The closing of this acquisition represents a significant step forward in the execution of Excelerate’s downstream expansion strategy. These assets align seamlessly with our operational expertise and long-term LNG supply agreements, while also presenting promising opportunities for future growth.

“This acquisition enhances our financial outlook through its stable, long-term cash flows with predictable margins. We are confident that integrating this Jamaica platform will generate substantial value for our shareholders while advancing our mission to provide cleaner, more cost-effective natural gas solutions to the people of Jamaica.”

The U.S. company confirms that it used proceeds from the notes offering to repay in full the existing term loan under the credit agreement. On the other hand, NFE intends to use the proceeds from the sale to reduce its corporate debt and for general corporate purposes.

With a capacity of 740,000 gallons, the Montego Bay terminal on Jamaica’s northwestern coast entails storage, truck loading facilities, a regasification plant, and natural gas pipelines. This terminal, commissioned in 2016, provides LNG for the country’s 145-megawatt Bogue power plant and industrial customers.

The other terminal, Old Harbour, encapsulates a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) docked 3.6 miles, or approximately 5.7 kilometers, out at sea and an underwater natural gas pipeline. With a capacity of 170,000 cubic meters, the FSRU Höegh Gallant was booked to serve the terminal for ten years, starting in 2021.

Commissioned in 2019, this asset provides LNG to Jamaica Public Service Company’s 190-megawatt power plant in Old Harbour and NFE’s 150-megawatt cogeneration power plant at Jamalco in Clarendon.

Wes Edens, Chairman and CEO of New Fortress Energy, remarked: “The closing of the sale of our Jamaican assets to Excelerate is a significant milestone for the company as we streamline our operations and paydown corporate debt through asset sales.

“NFE has made a positive impact on Jamaica’s energy transition, and we are proud of the contributions our world class employees and assets have made in improving energy costs and reliability on the island. We are confident that Excelerate will continue NFE’s vision of providing reliable and cost-effective energy to Jamaica and continue to drive substantial progress towards improving Jamaica’s energy future.”

Following the sale of its business in Jamaica, NFE plans to simplify its balance sheet with potential asset-based financing, with a similar structure to other liquefier financings, using its portfolio of LNG terminals and long-term LNG supply and downstream demand contracts.

The closure of this sale comes shortly after Energos Infrastructure, the firm’s joint venture with Apollo Global Management, secured an assignment for one of its FSRUs in the Dominican Republic.