China blocks SoftBank's $5.4 billion takeover of ABB's robotics division
China blocks SoftBank’s US$5.4 billion takeover of engineering group ABB’s robotics division
On November 5, 2026, China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) prohibited Japanese investor SoftBank from acquiring the robotics segment of Swiss engineering group ABB for US$5.4 billion.
Source: Robotics — Web news discovery · Read original article ↗
Article text · Original source · English
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.
China is ABB’s biggest robotics market, representing around 30% of its robot-related business. ABB operates about 30 local companies in China with around 15,000 employees located in nearly 130 cities, as well as online and offline channels in nearly 700 cities.
According to its website, ABB Engineering (Shanghai) is home to its global robotics headquarters and is an important research-and-development centre and production base for ABB Group.
SoftBank shares were down about 5% before the FT report was published and they ended the day down 6.8%.
The blocked ABB deal comes less than a week after SoftBank-backed digital-payments company OPay withdrew a US initial public offering, citing a regulatory inquiry by a foreign jurisdiction it did not identify.
OPay would have raised US$304 million from the IPO after pricing 16 million American depositary shares at US$19 each earlier in the day. REUTERS
What the source reports
Publisher-reported claims, with original evidence. These results have not been independently verified by RoboSignal.
Reported numbers
employees
≈15,000
View original evidence
ng on the transaction, ABB said. China is ABB’s biggest robotics market, representing around 30% of its robot-related business. ABB operates about 30 local companies in China with around 15,000 employees located in nearly 130 cities, as well as online and offline channels in nearly 700 cities. According to its website, ABB Engineering (Shanghai) is home to its global robotics headquarters and is an important research
Open source S6cities
130
View original evidence
ng on the transaction, ABB said. China is ABB’s biggest robotics market, representing around 30% of its robot-related business. ABB operates about 30 local companies in China with around 15,000 employees located in nearly 130 cities, as well as online and offline channels in nearly 700 cities. According to its website, ABB Engineering (Shanghai) is home to its global robotics headquarters and is an important research
Open source S6cities
700
View original evidence
ng on the transaction, ABB said. China is ABB’s biggest robotics market, representing around 30% of its robot-related business. ABB operates about 30 local companies in China with around 15,000 employees located in nearly 130 cities, as well as online and offline channels in nearly 700 cities. According to its website, ABB Engineering (Shanghai) is home to its global robotics headquarters and is an important research
Open source S6percent
≈30
View original evidence
ng on the transaction, ABB said. China is ABB’s biggest robotics market, representing around 30% of its robot-related business. ABB operates about 30 local companies in China with around 15,000 employees located in nearly 130 cities, as well as online and offline channels in nearly 700 cities. According to its website, ABB Engineering (Shanghai) is home to its global robotics headquarters and is an important research
Open source S6percent
1.1
View original evidence
nal 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 transferre
Open source S4percent
≈5
View original evidence
-and-development centre and production base for ABB Group. SoftBank shares were down about 5% before the FT report was published and they ended the day down 6.8%. The blocked ABB deal comes less than a week after SoftBank-backed digital-payments company OPay withdrew a US initial public offering, citing a regulatory inquiry by a foreign jurisdiction it did not identify. OPay would have raised US$304 million from the
Open source S7percent
6.8
View original evidence
-and-development centre and production base for ABB Group. SoftBank shares were down about 5% before the FT report was published and they ended the day down 6.8%. The blocked ABB deal comes less than a week after SoftBank-backed digital-payments company OPay withdrew a US initial public offering, citing a regulatory inquiry by a foreign jurisdiction it did not identify. OPay would have raised US$304 million from the
Open source S7
- paper: not_reported
Source excerpts and review record
Automatically extracted; no manual editorial approval recorded.
ng on the transaction, ABB said. China is ABB’s biggest robotics market, representing around 30% of its robot-related business. ABB operates about 30 local companies in China with around 15,000 employees located in nearly 130 cities, as well as online and offline channels in nearly 700 cities. According to its website, ABB Engineering (Shanghai) is home to its global robotics headquarters and is an important research
Open source S6
nal 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 transferre
Open source S4
-and-development centre and production base for ABB Group. SoftBank shares were down about 5% before the FT report was published and they ended the day down 6.8%. The blocked ABB deal comes less than a week after SoftBank-backed digital-payments company OPay withdrew a US initial public offering, citing a regulatory inquiry by a foreign jurisdiction it did not identify. OPay would have raised US$304 million from the
Open source S7
Source：Robotics — Web news discovery · straitstimes.com