China Prohibits SoftBank Acquisition of ABB Robotics Business in China, ABB Confirms

China has told SoftBank it will not allow its 5.4 billion dollar acquisition of the robotics division of Swiss engineering group ABB to go ahead, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing multiple people familiar with the matter.

The Financial Times said the National Development and Reform Commission, China's state planner, would block the deal. ABB gave a narrower account of the decision. ABB confirmed on Thursday that it had been informed by SoftBank that Chinese authorities prohibited the acquisition of ABB Robotics operations in China.

The two accounts differ in scope. The Financial Times and Reuters frame the move as stopping the acquisition. ABB's own confirmation frames it as a prohibition on acquiring the ABB Robotics business in China. No company has announced that the global deal has been formally terminated.

A deal agreed in October 2025

SoftBank agreed to buy the ABB robotics business in October 2025. The deal was set at an enterprise value of 5.375 billion dollars for 100 percent of the business, with completion planned for mid to late 2026.

The deal had won unconditional European Union approval in March. The United States review had not concluded.

ABB said it is in close dialogue with SoftBank and that the two companies are working constructively on the transaction. SoftBank is assessing what went wrong and whether it can seek approval again, according to the Financial Times.

Why China matters for the business

China is ABB's biggest market for robots, at around 30 percent of its robots business. The ABB robotics unit employs more than 7,000 people and supplies industrial robots to manufacturers including BMW.

SoftBank Chief Executive Masayoshi Son sought to establish SoftBank as a core player in the development of artificial intelligence through the deal. The Financial Times described the move as a push into physical AI. SoftBank had expected the deal to be approved until last week, according to the Financial Times.

The reported data concern

The National Development and Reform Commission 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, according to the Financial Times report. The grounds for the decision were not officially disclosed. That concern is the reason reported by the Financial Times. It is not an official statement from the commission.

When Reuters first reported the story on Thursday, it said it could not immediately verify the report. SoftBank declined to comment, ABB did not respond to requests for comment, and the National Development and Reform Commission could not be reached. ABB later the same morning issued its confirmation.

SoftBank shares were already down about 5 percent in Tokyo and were little changed after the Financial Times report, according to Reuters. A later Asia market wrap put SoftBank down about 5.8 percent at around 4,020 yen, also weighed by a slide in its chip designer Arm and the wider AI selloff.