China has told SoftBank Group it will not allow the Japanese investor to buy ABB's robotics business, stalling a $5.4 billion deal that founder Masayoshi Son had placed at the heart of his push into physical AI.
Swiss engineering group ABB said on November 5 that SoftBank had informed it Chinese regulators had "prohibited the acquisition of the ABB Robotics business in China." The Financial Times, which first reported the decision, said the deal was blocked by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the powerful state planner that also reviews foreign investments with national security implications.
Beijing Feared Robot Data Could Train OpenAI Models
People familiar with the matter told the FT that the NDRC was concerned robotics data could be transferred overseas and used to train AI models, including those developed by OpenAI, in which SoftBank is a major investor. The review also scrutinized ABB's Chinese supply chains and included a demand to keep some of the unit's manufacturing capabilities in China.
Two people familiar with the transaction told Reuters that Beijing worried about sensitive data reaching the US through SoftBank's ties with Western companies, and was uneasy about a Japanese company taking control of the technology. China-Japan relations have soured since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told parliament in November 2025 that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, one that could allow its forces to respond. Beijing later sharply limited exports of critical minerals to Japan.
China is the robotics unit's biggest market, accounting for about 30% of the business, according to Reuters. The FT said more than 90% of the robots ABB sells to Chinese customers are made locally, including at a $150 million mega factory in Shanghai's Pudong district that began operating in 2022 with support from the city government.
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The ruling is the second major deal Beijing has blocked this year, after Meta was ordered in April to unwind its acquisition of AI startup Manus for more than $2 billion. SoftBank agreed to buy the ABB unit in October 2025, and the deal cleared China's competition review in February before running into the security review.
SoftBank shares closed 6.8% lower in Tokyo on November 5, according to Reuters. Investing.com reported that the stock was also weighed down by an overnight drop in Arm Holdings, the British chip designer controlled by SoftBank, after Arm's current-quarter guidance underwhelmed investors.
SoftBank declined to comment. ABB said the two companies are in close dialogue and still working on the transaction, and one person told Reuters they were optimistic a solution could be found, with SoftBank in talks with Chinese authorities. The FT reported that SoftBank is trying to determine what went wrong and whether it can seek approval again.
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