The Ministry of Finance in Trinidad and Tobago approved a licence for NCB Financial Group’s acquisition of Guardian Holdings Limited, GHL, with ‘best wishes’ for the parties to a transaction that has buy-in from shareholders but has been held up by regulatory delays.

But the Jamaican banking conglomerate, which is making the bid for Guardian through subsidiary NCB Global Holdings, still has more hurdles to clear and was forced to extend its offer for minority shares in the Trinidad-based company for three more days.

NCB said Tuesday that it still needs another permit from the central bank in Trinidad & Tobago to complete the takeover offer.

“We now await a determination on requests made for a controlling shareholder permit, and will accordingly issue a further release or notice on or before May 3, 2019, which is the new extended closing date for NCB Global Holding’s bid,” NCB said in a market filing.

The takeover offer should have closed on Tuesday, April 30. The extension pushes the bid into its 17th month.

NCB Financial, which currently owns 29.99 per cent of GHL, already has enough acceptances of its US$2.75 per share offer to minority owners in hand to meet its target for an additional 32 per cent stake in the company, but disputes with shareholders and regulators have led to a year and a half of lapses and delays.

On Monday, T&T Minister of Finance Colm Imbert granted a licence under the Foreign Investment Act to NCB Global Holdings Limited.

“The minister of finance welcomes this direct foreign investment in our local financial services sector, especially by a company with Caribbean connections, and wishes all concerned all the best in their future endeavours,” said a release from Imbert.

The finance minister’s comment on NCB’s “Caribbean connections” appeared to be a subtle dig related to concerns he previously raised that NCB’s parent company is domiciled outside the region and that the bank’s ownership could be seen as Canadian. The bank is principally owned by Jamaican-Canadian Michael Lee-Chin, whose holding ultimately resides in Ontario-based Portland Holdings Inc.

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