Fintech Giant ION Grew With Billions in Secretive HPS Debt

Andrea Pignataro’s ION Group borrowed billions of dollars from US private lender HPS Investment Partners in recent years to fuel an acquisition spree, adding a layer of expensive loans to the pile of publicly traded debt already weighing on the Italian tycoon’s fintech empire.

ION has taken about $3 billion of private loans, mostly provided by the New York-based fund, according to an analysis of its most recent financial accounts by Bloomberg News and people familiar with the matter.

The loans were raised by different holding companies that sit atop ION’s sprawling businesses. Taken all together, they represent one ...