MILAN, July 19 (Reuters) - Privately-owned fintech group

ION has completed the buyout of Italian bad loan and property

manager Prelios from U.S. hedge fund Davidson Kempner for 1.35

billion euros, the companies said a statement.

It is the second consolidation deal in quick succession in

Italy's bad loan recovery sector, which became Europe's biggest

in recent years as lenders offloaded more than 300 billion euros

in impaired loans.

The Bank of Italy and the Italian government gave the deal a

green light following a close assessment after ION founder

Andrea Pignataro's investments in Italy gave the company a

prominent role in the country's financial sector as a supplier

of key services, and placed it in control of sensitive data.