March 27 (Reuters) - Liquefied natural gas

infrastructure provider Excelerate Energy ( EE ) is nearing a

deal to acquire the Jamaica business of smaller rival New

Fortress Energy ( NFE ) for about $1.1 billion, according to

people familiar with the matter.

If the talks are successful, the deal could be announced as

early as Thursday, said the sources, who requested anonymity to

discuss private deliberations.

The all-cash deal is expected to boost Excelerate's existing

global footprint, with its LNG infrastructure currently deployed

in countries including Bangladesh, Brazil, Finland and Pakistan.

The transaction is also expected to help New Fortress

address financial issues that forced it to consider offloading

some of its premium assets.

Excelerate and New Fortress could not be immediately reached

for comment.

Both Excelerate and New Fortress provide floating LNG import

terminals, which allow countries to import natural gas without

having to build large-scale facilities, which can cost tens of

billions of dollars and take years to construct.

New Fortress' Jamaica business consists of the Montego Bay

onshore terminal, the Old Harbour floating terminal, and the

Clarendon combined heat and power plant that supplies 65% of the

island's electricity, according to a November earnings

presentation.

The company said earlier in March it hoped to raise about $2

billion from asset sales including its businesses in Jamaica and

Brazil, adding that the proceeds would be used to reduce its

debt pile, which stood at $8.4 billion at the end of 2024.

In October, New Fortress started exploring options,

including bringing in strategic partners or potential asset

sales, after the company was forced to defer shareholder

dividend payments while it held talks with bondholders to

address near-term debt maturities.

In November, it announced the close of a series of financing

transactions, including the exchange of existing bonds for

longer-dated notes and the issue of new equity, to ease its

near-term cash crunch.