Vantage Towers

In July 2019, the British Vodafone Group announced the creation of a new business unit that would include the Group's cell towers and masts. This move was part of the broader trend towards separating passive infrastructure and active network components in mobile networks. The infrastructure company was headquartered in Germany. Vantage Towers began operating in May 2020.

In 2020, Vodafone Group declared its intention to list its subsidiary on the stock exchange. The IPO took place in March 2021; approximately one-fifth of the shares were initially sold, with a total market value of €2.2 billion. The proceeds enabled the Vodafone Group to reduce its debt level. Concurrently, Vantage Towers obtained the requisite capital to facilitate its global expansion, for example in Greece.

In early 2022, preliminary indications emerged that a number of institutional investors were expressing interest in Vantage Towers. In December, the management board recommended that the acquisition offer from Oak Holdings be accepted. Oak Holdings is a joint venture of the Vodafone Group, GIP and KKR. Following the acquisition of more than 80% of Vantage Towers shares by Oak Holdings in November 2022, the company was delisted in May 2023. As of March 2025, Oak Holdings holds approximately 89.32% of Vantage Towers shares.

Vantage Towers currently operates 87,824 sites in ten European countries (as of March 2025). The largest markets are those of Germany, Spain and Greece.

The company's principal objective is to construct, operate and subsequently lease passive network infrastructure for mobile communications. This includes ground-based tower sites (GBT) and rooftop tower sites (RTT), as well as so-called smart cells for tunnels, larger buildings, and other environments. The company provides additional services, from site operation to maintenance.

Vantage Towers leases its infrastructure to telecommunications companies, energy suppliers and IoT providers. As part of this business model, competitors usually are sharing sites. In most markets, the company's customers includes all of the country's major mobile network operators. Accordingly, the company characterizes itself as a neutral host.