The stage was set last year for a battle royal in the European cell towers market, with Cellnex – by far the largest pure-play neutral host in the region – expanding its footprint rapidly, while Vodafone placed its huge portfolio of 68,000 Europe-wide towers into an autonomous unit called Vantage Towers. Spain-based Cellnex has wasted no time in buying yet more tower assets in the early weeks of 2021, possibly spurred on by a desire to consolidate its leadership position as firmly as possible before Vodafone floats Vantage Towers. When Vodafone announced its plan last year, group CEO Nick Read was upbeat about the value of the tower assets, which could be unlocked by setting up an arm’s-length division and…