Mobile payments company Monitise has bought Mobile Money Network (MMN), the company behind the SimplyTap mobile checkout app, for £15m.

Monitise already held a 50 per cent stake in MMN, and has now signed a deal to acquire the shareholdings of Best Buy Europe and Freston Road Ventures, giving it 100 per cent voting control of the company, and valuing the business at £30m. The deal will enable Monitise to integrate MMN’s technology into its own mCommerce platform.

MMN has partnerships with brands including Carphone Warehouse, Associated Newspapers, and Universal Music, but made a loss of £1.9m for the 72 week period ending 30 June 2011.

“Taking control of our UK mobile commerce joint venture Mobile Money Network gives us full ownership of a rapidly-growing flagship UK mobile commerce business and exceptional technology,” said Monitise Group chairman Duncan McIntyre. “This is expected to yield significant operational and strategic benefits both in and beyond the UK. Our focus is firmly set on widening the leadership gap we have established via our unique network and partnership approach to Mobile Money, one of the fastest-growing sectors globally.”

Monitise also acquired mobile POS firm eMerit Solutions for up to £2.5m, and has contracted with Cannacord to raise £100m, through two share placings.

Partnerships

That still isnt everything, however, as Monitise announced a series of partnerships. It will be collaborating with Intuit – which launched a mobile payments pilot in the UK last week – to forge a strategic alliance focused on delivering financial management solution Mint to financial institutions through Monitise’s Enterprise technology platform.

Monitise is also finalising plans with RIM for the first BBM-based payments service, launching in the new year in Indonesia – the world’s fourth most populous country, where BlackBerry is the most popular make of smartphone.

Finally, its Movida joint venture with Visa in India is expected to launch a mobile payments service for HDFC, Indias second-largest private bank, over the next few weeks, enabling users to pay bills, buy tickets, and top up airtime on their mobile.