TOKYO Japanese online financial conglomerate SBI Holdings Inc said on Saturday it now has 53.74% shares of midsize lender SBI Shinsei Bank from 50.04% after a tender offer.

The completion of the tender offer through Friday is setting up grounds for expected delisting of Shinsei to give more flexibility in returning 349 billion yen ($2.43 billion) in public funds its predecessor bank received two decades ago in a government bailout.

SBI Holdings said last month it would take SBI Shinsei Bank private and launch the tender offer with plans to pay 2,800 yen per Shinsei share for 154.2 billion yen in total.

SBI aims to become Japan's fourth-largest banking group. It already owns the country's largest online brokerage, an online bank and an asset manager and has been taking shares in smaller lenders to create a nationwide network.

($1 = 143.6800 yen)

(Reporting by Satoshi Sugiyama; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)