LONDON (Reuters) – Shares in Vodafone rose 4% on Monday after reports that activist investor Cevian Capital had bought an undisclosed stake in the mobile group to encourage it to lead a consolidation drive in Europe. Analysts and investors welcomed the move after the British company’s shares languished during the two years of the pandemic, held back by competition in markets such as Italy, Spain and Portugal. Chief Executive Nick Read, Vodafone’s former CFO who has been in the top job since Oct. 2018, has called for more consolidation in Europe and said it was willing to pursue merger opportun…