U.S. bank Citigroup buys 4% share in Ajax

The United States bank Citigroup has bought shares in Ajax. The company now has an equity stake of over 4 percent - surpassing the 3 percent limit at which investors must report their interest to the Authority on the Financial Markets (AFM), RTL Nieuws reports.

On October 11, Citigroup reported to the AFM that it owned 763,181 shares in Ajax. At the current stock price, that is worth about 7.7 million euros. It is unclear why the American bank has taken a stake in the football club. Neither Citigroup nor Ajax responded to RTL’s questions on the matter.

Ajax’s share price is at its lowest point in five years - a good time to buy if you’re looking to benefit in the long term. Of the over 18 million shares, 5 million can be traded on the stock exchange.

The Amsterdam club is facing troubled times. The team is in 16th place in the Eredivisie, a historic low. And things are looking even worse administratively. Ajax fired technical director Sven Mislintat after just four months, holding him responsible for the team and new head coach Maurice Steijn’s poor performance. Dissatisfied fans stormed the main entrance to the Johan Cruijff Arena after the abandoned match against Feyenoord, ultimately leading to Pier Eringa, chairman of the Supervisory Board, resigning.

Ajax brought back veterans Michael van Praag as a member of the Supervisory Board and Louis van Gaal as an advisor, hoping they could turn things around.