China has barred SoftBank from acquiring ABB Robotics' business in China

China has prohibited SoftBank from acquiring ABB Robotics’ business in China, disrupting part of a planned $5.375 billion sale agreed in October 2025. ABB had chosen a sale over spinning off the division, while SoftBank viewed the purchase as a way to connect industrial robots with its investments in artificial intelligence and computing. Although the deal passed China’s competition review in February 2026, it required a separate national-security review. China is central to the business: it is ABB Robotics’ largest market, over 90 percent of robots sold to Chinese customers are made locally, and the division employs about 12,700 people there.

Chinese authorities have not publicly explained the prohibition. The Financial Times reported that reviewers were concerned Chinese-developed robotics technology, factory data, intellectual property, and manufacturing capacity might move overseas and support AI development abroad. These are reported concerns, not official findings. The decision complicates SoftBank’s industrial-AI strategy and creates uncertainty for ABB employees, suppliers, and customers, while underscoring that competition approval may not resolve national-security concerns involving strategic technology. The ban applies to the China business; neither company has said the global sale is cancelled. As of November 6, the companies were discussing the decision, and SoftBank was reportedly assessing whether to seek approval again. Keeping some Chinese operations or intellectual property under local ownership could potentially enable a revised deal, but no remedy or new timetable has been announced.