China blocks SoftBank’s US$5.4 billion takeover of engineering group ABB’s robotics division

ABB said it is in close dialogue with SoftBank and the two firms are working on the transaction.

China’s state planner has told Japanese investor SoftBank it will not allow the US$5.4 billion (S$6.89 billion) acquisition of the robotics segment of engineering group ABB to go ahead, the Swiss firm said on Nov 5.

The case marks the second major deal blocked by China in 2026 after Meta was ordered to unwind its US$2-billion-plus acquisition of artificial intelligence startup Manus.

The news comes as Beijing tightens scrutiny of foreign investment in domestic startups that are developing frontier technologies.

It also restrains SoftBank’s ambitions in the robotics industry, which Chief Executive Masayoshi Son has billed as a core component of its AI investment strategy.

The prohibition was first reported by the Financial Times on Nov 5. SoftBank had expected the deal to go through until it was told last week that China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) had prohibited the acquisition, the report said.

The NDRC reviews foreign investments that might have national security implications.

SoftBank declined to comment. The NDRC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

ABB shares were down 1.1% in morning trading after the blocked takeover was made public.

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, the FT report added.

China and Japan have also been engaged in a diplomatic spat after comments from Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Taiwan in November 2025, prompting China to severely limit exports of critical minerals to Japan.

ABB and SoftBank are in close dialogue and working on the transaction, ABB said.