Two weeks after announcing it was set to take a majority stake in the parent company of Clarien Bank, Jamaica’s NCB Financial Group Limited has launched a $174 million cash bid to take control of a Trinidad and Tobago-based financial services company.

In a statement, NCB said the move “aligned with the NCB group’s vision and will create a truly pan-Caribbean diversified financial service conglomerate”.

Though its wholly-owned subsidiary NCB Global Holdings, NCB is looking to acquire a controlling interest in Guardian Holdings Limited by purchasing up to 74.2 million shares in the company. Last year the NCB group acquired a 29.99 per cent interest in the company.

An offer and takeover bid has been made to shareholders of Guardian Holdings, which is the parent company of Guardian Group, a financial services group focused on life, health, property and casualty insurance, pensions and asset management. Unless extended the offer will close on January 12.

The offer is conditional upon NCB acquiring control of Guardian Holdings and obtaining regulatory and other approvals required to acquire the shares in Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and other jurisdictions in which GHL and its subsidiaries are regulated.

NCB Financial Group is the financial holding company of National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited. The company is owned by Jamaican billionaire Michael Lee-Chin’s Portland Holdings. At the beginning of the month NCB announced it had agreed terms to become the majority shareholder of Clarien Group Ltd.