(Refiles to correct typo in headline) MILAN, June 3 (Reuters) - Shares in Italy’s Illimity rose as much as 6% on Thursday lifted by a report privately-owned ION Group is interested in the Italian digital lender and bad loan specialist. Italian daily Il Messaggero reported in its MoltoEconomia supplement that ION wanted to take a “significant” stake which could however remain below the threshold that triggers a mandatory takeover bid. It was not immediately possible to reach ION and Illimity for comment. The report said Illimity had denied having had any contacts with ION or having received any proposal. ION in March said it planned to launch a 1.86 billion euro takeover bid for Italian credit data and management group Cerved, just days after the fintech company snapped up Italian banking software provider Cedacri. (Reporting by Andrea Mandalà; editing by Valentina Za) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.