China blocks SoftBank's $5.4 billion purchase of ABB's robotics unit

China's National Development and Reform Commission has told SoftBank it will not allow the $5.4 billion acquisition of ABB's robotics division to go ahead, the Financial Times reported. ABB said on Thursday it had been informed by SoftBank that Chinese regulators had "prohibited the acquisition of the ABB Robotics business in China."

SoftBank was recently informed of the block by the NDRC, the state planner responsible for supply chain security, people familiar with the matter told the FT. The grounds were not disclosed. SoftBank declined to comment. The NDRC did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

ABB and SoftBank signed the deal in October 2025. It valued the unit at an enterprise value of $5.375 billion and would have given SoftBank more than 7,000 employees, roughly 500,000 installed robots worldwide and a client list that includes BMW.

Why China mattered

China is the biggest market for ABB's robotics unit, with more than 90% of its robots for Chinese customers manufactured locally. The Swiss-Swedish company employs about 12,700 people in China. Shanghai helped ABB build its $150 million robotics mega-factory in Pudong, which began operating in 2022.

At its peak, ABB's robotics business held more than 70% of the Chinese market. Domestic manufacturers' share of China's industrial robotics market rose from 47% to 58% in 2024, according to industry data cited by Startup Fortune. ABB's China operations were a significant attraction for SoftBank, people close to the Japanese group said.

A security review, not a competition case

The deal cleared China's competition review in February and won unconditional approval from the European Commission in March. It then became subject to a foreign investment security review by the NDRC. The US review had not concluded as of late October.

The NDRC review examined ABB's Chinese supply chains and a demand to retain some of the robotics unit's manufacturing capacity in China, people familiar with the matter said. Regulators were also concerned that robotics data could be transferred overseas and used to train AI models, including those developed by OpenAI, in which SoftBank is a major investor. People briefed on their thinking said regulators examined keeping intellectual property for parts of the business in China, potentially requiring pieces to be spun off to Chinese owners.

The ABB block is the second major deal China has stopped this year, after the NDRC in April blocked Meta Platforms' $2 billion acquisition of AI startup Manus, SCMP reported.

What SoftBank and ABB lose

The unit generated about $2.3 billion in revenue in 2024, roughly 7% of ABB's group total, and employs around 7,000 people. It supplies robotic arms and industrial machinery to manufacturers including BMW.

Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Kirk Boodry said the unit had domain expertise and manufacturing knowhow that had been expected to turn robotic concepts into businesses. SoftBank shares fell about 5% in Tokyo on Thursday, against a 0.5% decline in the Nikkei 225, Investing.com reported. The stock had already dropped 38% in the past month and 28% over the past year, Traders Union reported.

What happens next

SoftBank is trying to determine what went wrong and whether it can seek approval again, the FT reported. Neither company has laid out a public plan. Completion had been planned for mid-to-late 2026. For other buyers, a Chinese security review now sits alongside competition clearance as a live veto in robotics deals.