November 5, 2026
China has prohibited SoftBank from acquiring ABB’s robotics business in China, throwing a $5.4 billion takeover into doubt, ABB confirmed on Thursday. Why it matters: the reported concern is not competition — it is that robotics data could flow overseas and be used to train AI models, which makes this the second major technology deal Beijing has blocked this year.
What happened
ABB said SoftBank had informed it that China’s Office of the Working Mechanism for Foreign Investment Security Review has prohibited the acquisition of the ABB Robotics business in China. The Financial Times first reported the prohibition, and Reuters reported that SoftBank had expected the deal to be approved until last week, when China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) — the state planner that reviews foreign investment with possible national security implications — told it the acquisition would not be allowed. SoftBank declined to comment, and the NDRC did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
The details
ABB agreed in October 2025 to sell its Robotics division to SoftBank Group for an enterprise value of $5.375 billion, in a deal that was always subject to regulatory approvals, with SoftBank managing that process. ABB’s statement stops short of declaring the whole transaction dead: it says the prohibition covers the robotics business in China, and that ABB and SoftBank are in close dialogue and working on the transaction. ABB did not say how the ruling changes the sale’s structure, timetable or price.
That distinction matters because China is not a side market for ABB Robotics. Reuters reports it is the division’s biggest market, at around 30% of its robot-related business: ABB operates about 30 local companies in China with roughly 15,000 employees in nearly 130 cities, and ABB Engineering (Shanghai) is home to the group’s global robotics headquarters as well as a major research-and-development and production base. A version of the deal without the Chinese operations would be a substantially different business from the one SoftBank agreed to buy.
Why China said no — as far as anyone knows
No official grounds have been published. According to the FT’s reporting, cited by Reuters, the NDRC was concerned about robotics data being transferred overseas, where it could be used to train AI models — including those developed by OpenAI, in which SoftBank is a major investor. That explanation rests on the FT’s sources, not on any Chinese announcement, and should be read that way. Reuters notes this is the second major deal China has stopped this year, after the NDRC ordered Meta to unwind its $2-billion-plus acquisition of AI startup Manus. ABB shares were down 1.1% in morning trading after the news; SoftBank shares ended the day down 6.8%, though they were already down about 5% before the FT report in a day of wider market moves.
Why it matters
For SoftBank, robotics is meant to be a core part of chief executive Masayoshi Son’s AI investment strategy, and ABB would have supplied factory-floor hardware, customers and a large installed base to go with its AI holdings. The wider lesson is for anyone buying or selling a global robotics business: regulators increasingly treat robots as data-gathering machines, and the information they collect is exactly the kind of material used to train AI systems. A large cross-border robotics deal now has to clear a security review about data and AI training, not just a competition review — and this one, as structured, did not.
Frequently asked questions
Has the whole SoftBank–ABB deal been cancelled?
Not according to ABB. Its November 5 statement says the prohibition covers the ABB Robotics business in China, and that ABB and SoftBank are in close dialogue and working on the transaction. No revised structure or timetable has been announced.
How big is the deal?
ABB agreed in October 2025 to sell its Robotics division to SoftBank for an enterprise value of $5.375 billion — about $5.4 billion — subject to regulatory approvals.
Why did China block it?
No official reason has been published. The FT reported, via Reuters, that the concern was robotics data being transferred overseas and potentially used to train AI models, including OpenAI’s. That is sourced reporting, not a Chinese government statement.
Is this the first deal China has blocked this way?
No. Reuters notes it is the second major deal stopped this year: earlier in 2026 the NDRC ordered Meta to unwind its acquisition of AI startup Manus, a deal worth more than $2 billion.
Sources: Reuters, Financial Times (via Reuters), ABB statement