Ajax Shares Jump Most in Two Years After Historic Win in Madrid

(Bloomberg) -- Shares of AFC Ajax NV rose the most in two years after the Dutch soccer club’s stunning UEFA Champions League victory over Real Madrid in the Spanish capital.

Madrid, winners of European soccer’s elite competition for the last three seasons, were firm favorites with bookmakers to progress to the quarter finals after winning the first leg in Amsterdam 2-1 on Feb. 13. But two Ajax goals within the first 18 minutes on Tuesday night left Los Blancos, the world’s richest soccer club, chasing the tie.

Dusan Tadic’s goal in the sixty-second minute meant the game’s richest team was all but out of the tournament, and the match finished 4-1 to Ajax, or 5-3 on aggregate. Ajax have won the tournament previously known as the European Cup four times, but the last victory was in 1995. The club hasn’t reached the quarter final since 2003.

Ajax’s shares jumped 9.5 percent to 16.80 euros at 9:15 a.m. in Amsterdam, giving the company a market value of 307.1 million euros ($347.2 million). The intraday advance of 11 percent was the biggest since March 2017.

A place in the next round is worth an extra 10.5 million euros ($11.9 million) in prize money, with another 31 million euros potentially at stake if clubs progress further. Success in the tournament also tends to bring greater leverage with sponsors.

To contact the reporter on this story: Joe Easton in London at jeaston7@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Beth Mellor at bmellor@bloomberg.net, Phil Serafino

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