China blocks SoftBank’s acquisition of ABB’s robotics business in China

What happened

China has blocked SoftBank Group's acquisition of ABB's robotics business in the country. According to a press release from ABB, ABB has been informed by SoftBank that China's Office of the Working Mechanism for Foreign Investment Security Review has prohibited the acquisition of the ABB Robotics business in China; SoftBank is managing the process of obtaining regulatory approvals. The deal is valued at USD 5.375 billion and was agreed between ABB and SoftBank in October last year (October 2025), when it was expected to close in mid-to-late 2026; the sale replaced ABB's earlier plan to spin off the robotics business as a separately listed company. At that time, ABB Robotics had around 7,000 employees and reported revenue of USD 2.3 billion in 2024, about 7% of the group total. The deal was announced in October 2025. ABB says ABB and SoftBank are in close dialogue and are working constructively on the transaction.

Impact and signal

Affected components and suppliers

Source and time

Source: Evertiq · 11/5/2026 · View original source