China blocks SoftBank's purchase of ABB Robotics in China

As of 7:12 a.m. ET, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026

China has prohibited SoftBank Group's acquisition of ABB's robotics business in China, ABB said Thursday, Nov. 5, putting a hitch in the Japanese investment group's planned purchase of the Swiss-Swedish company's robotics division.

ABB said it had been informed by SoftBank that the Office of the Working Mechanism for Foreign Investment Security Review in China "has prohibited the acquisition of the ABB Robotics business in China." The process to obtain regulatory approvals is managed by SoftBank, ABB said.

"ABB and SoftBank are in close dialogue and are working constructively on the transaction," the company said in a statement from its Zurich headquarters. ABB did not say whether the wider deal would be restructured or how the China decision affects its timing.

The deal

ABB announced in October 2025 that it had agreed to sell its Robotics division to SoftBank for an enterprise value of $5.375 billion. The transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions, ABB said.

The robotics business has more than 7,000 employees, supplies robotic arms and industrial machinery to manufacturers such as BMW and has a large presence in China, Bloomberg News reported. SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son has described the purchase as a key part of his ambition to play a larger role in the artificial intelligence buildout, according to Bloomberg.

Market reaction

SoftBank shares were down about 7% in Tokyo on Thursday, Bloomberg reported, and a SoftBank spokesperson declined to comment. The Associated Press reported that SoftBank, an OpenAI investor, shed 6.9% in Tokyo amid heavy selling of AI-related stocks in Asia.

The Financial Times had earlier reported that the deal faced a Chinese security review, Bloomberg noted.

China's state planner blocked Meta Platforms' $2 billion acquisition of agentic AI startup Manus in April, Bloomberg reported, as Beijing has tightened controls on data and technology transfers in the AI era.