YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki is stepping down from the role and will be succeeded by current YouTube head of product Neal Mohan. Wojcicki was the 16th employee at Google in 1999 and had advocated for the company’s $1.65B purchase of YouTube in 2006. Wojcicki has served as YouTube CEO since 2014. More: - In a blog update, Wojcicki said she was stepping back to start a new chapter focused on her family, health, and personal projects she is passionate about.
- Mohan will take the lead as the senior vice president and new head of YouTube.
- Wojcicki said she will continue working with YouTube teams, coaching members, and meeting with creators.
- Wojcicki also plans to take on an advisory role across Google and Alphabet.
- In the early days of Google, founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin rented Wojcicki’s garage space for $1,700 a month.
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Tesla is recalling 362,800 vehicles over concerns related to its self-driving feature. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said that some Teslas, in rare circumstances, could violate local traffic laws, potentially increasing the risk of a collision if a driver fails to intervene. More: - The NHTSA said Tesla had identified 18 warranty claims potentially related to certain roadway conditions, such as:
- Traveling through intersections during a stale yellow light and adjusting the vehicle’s speed while traveling through certain variable speed zones.
- Tesla said it will deploy an over-the-air software update in the coming weeks to improve how the technology negotiates certain driving maneuvers during the relevant conditions.
- In a tweet on Thursday, CEO Elon Musk said, “The word ‘recall’ for an over-the-air software update is anachronistic and just flat wrong!”
- Tesla shares closed at $202.04 on Thursday, down ~5.7% for the day.
In related news: - Elon Musk donated 11.6 million Tesla shares, worth about $1.9B, to charity last year.
- Musk sold about $23B worth of his Tesla holdings in 2022, in part to support his $44B acquisition of Twitter.
- Musk still holds about 13% of Tesla.
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China imposed new fines and sanctions on two U.S. defense companies, Lockheed Martin and a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies. China’s Ministry of Commerce said both firms were added to a list of “unreliable entities” for selling weapons to Taiwan. More: - The companies will be fined double the contract value of their arms sales to Taiwan since September 2020.
- The companies are required to pay the fines within 15 days, or the fine may increase.
- China considers Taiwan to be part of its territory and has raised concerns about the U.S. supplying the island with weapons.
- The sanctions prohibit the Chinese government from trading with both companies and ban the firms from making new investments in China.
- The sanctions also cancel and ban work and residence permits of the companies’ senior managers and prohibits them from entering the country.
- Lockheed Martin shares fell ~2% on Thursday, while Raytheon Technologies shares fell ~0.5%.
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According to sources, members of the Qatari royal family are preparing to bid about £5B ($6B) for English Premier League football club Manchester United. A consortium including Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, the country’s former prime minister and former head of the Qatar Investment Authority, is finalizing a bid to buy the club from the U.S. Glazer family. More: - Other bidders for the club include British businessman Jim Ratcliffe, who’s already secured financing from banks, including Goldman Sachs, for his proposal.
- Manchester United has been the subject of several takeover rumors in recent months after the Glazer family announced in August they were considering selling a minority stake in the football club.
- The late Malcolm Glazer purchased the football club in a 2005 leveraged buyout, adding significant debt to the club’s balance sheet.
- On Thursday, The Telegraph reported that Saudi Arabia has also submitted a bid for the club.
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Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway sold 7.4 million shares, or 12% of its stake, in Activision Blizzard as the company’s acquisition deal with Microsoft hangs in the balance. The sale brings Berkshire’s stake in the video game developer to about $4B. More: - Berkshire began buying shares in Activision in 2021 before Microsoft announced in January 2022 it was looking to buy the company for about $75B.
- If approved, it would be Microsoft’s largest acquisition to date.
- In 2022, Berkshire built up its stake in Activision to about $4.5B, hoping to profit off the difference between its trading price and Microsoft’s $95 a share purchase offer.
- Earlier this month, the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the planned acquisition would harm U.K. gamers and proposed that Microsoft sell Activision’s popular “Call of Duty” franchise.
- In December, the U.S. FTC sued to block Microsoft from buying Activision, saying the acquisition would harm competition in high-performance gaming consoles and subscription services.
- Microsoft has offered various deals in hopes of calming regulatory concerns over the deal, including offering “Call of Duty” to other game console makers like Sony and Nintendo for 10 years.
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Adani Group’s electricity unit Adani Power is pausing its planned $847M acquisition of coal-fired power plant DB Power. DB Power owns a profitable coal-fired power plant in Chhattisgarh, India. The planned acquisition was approved by India’s competition regulator in September and originally given until October to complete the deal. More: - Both companies have extended the deadline to close the deal four times, and on Wednesday, the latest completion deadline, Adani Power said both firms would no longer be seeking an extension.
- Last week, several Adani portfolio companies said they would scale back their capital expenditure for the financial year starting in April.
- Adani Group CFO Jugeshinder Singh said the firm would not be making any new commitments until they settle the current volatility period.
- Adani Group listed companies have lost over $100B in market value since Jan. 24 after New York-based short seller Hindenburg Research accused the conglomerate of widespread fraud.
- Adani has strongly denied the allegations, calling them unresearched and malicious.
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- South American nations have turned down the U.S.'s offer to donate their aging Russian-made military weapons to Ukraine in exchange for newer U.S.-made weapons.
- Switzerland said it is legally impossible for it to confiscate the assets of sanctioned Russians held in the country. The Swiss government said, "the expropriation of private assets of lawful origin without compensation is not permissible under Swiss law."
- Ryan Seacrest is leaving ABC talk show "Live with Kelly and Ryan" after six years. He will be succeeded by co-host Kelly Ripa's husband, actor Mark Consuelos.
- A majority of a Georgia grand jury believes that one or more witnesses might have committed perjury during its investigation into former President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia.
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 |  | Vanessa Omeokachie writes the daily Inside Business newsletter. Her interests include finance, technology, and entrepreneurship. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, attending concerts and music festivals, traveling, and exploring. Connect with her on Twitter @VanessaOmeo or on LinkedIn. |   | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 and 1972 Fords. | |
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