China's National Development and Reform Commission has blocked SoftBank Group's US$5.4 billion deal to acquire ABB's robotics unit, the Financial Times reported, citing unidentified people. SoftBank shares fell more than 7 per cent in Tokyo on Nov 5, 2026. The targeted business employs more than 7,000 people and supplies robotic arms to manufacturers including BMW. The NDRC cited concerns over robotics data being transferred overseas, following its April block of Meta's US$2 billion acquisition of Manus. SoftBank, which held a 13 per cent stake in OpenAI as of October, is weighing whether to seek approval again.
China has blocked SoftBank Group‘s US$5.4 billion acquisition of ABB‘s robotics unit, according to the Financial Times, which cited unidentified people familiar with the matter. The decision was made by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China’s powerful state planner, the newspaper reported.
The Japanese investment firm was recently informed of the rejection and is now assessing whether it can seek approval again, according to the report. SoftBank shares fell more than 7 per cent in Tokyo on Thursday (Nov 5, 2026) following the news. A company spokesperson declined to comment.
The deal had been widely expected to bolster SoftBank’s revenue and profit as the group awaits a boost from OpenAI‘s public debut. Founder Masayoshi Son had listed the acquisition as a key part of his ambition to play a larger role in the artificial intelligence build-out.
Deal targeted 7,000-employee ABB unit
The transaction would have transferred a business from Swiss-Swedish conglomerate ABB with more than 7,000 employees, which supplies robotic arms and industrial machinery to manufacturers including BMW and maintains a large presence in China.
Credit and equity investors worried about SoftBank’s near-US$65 billion investment in OpenAI and commitments to data centre projects worth hundreds of billions of dollars had looked to ABB’s expected contribution to the company’s bottom line as assurance that it was not overextending itself.
Concerns about Son’s exposure to hundreds of unlisted and unprofitable startups have grown since OpenAI head Sam Altman said the company would not go public in 2026. SoftBank held a 13 per cent stake in OpenAI as of October.
“ABB Robotics lacks the cutting-edge innovation found across SoftBank’s physical AI startup portfolio, but its domain expertise and manufacturing know-how had been expected to transform robotic concepts into actual businesses.” — Kirk Boodry, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst
NDRC review follows Meta-Manus precedent
The NDRC subjected SoftBank’s acquisition to a foreign investment security review, the FT reported. In April, the same regulator blocked Meta Platforms‘ US$2 billion acquisition of agentic AI startup Manus, issuing a one-line notice stating it had decided to prohibit foreign investment in the startup in accordance with laws and regulations.
According to the FT report, China — now aggressively expanding its humanoid robot and other physical AI applications — had been concerned about robotics data being transferred overseas and used to train competing AI models.
Japan is home to many of the world’s biggest industrial robot makers, including Fanuc, Yaskawa Electric and Kawasaki Heavy Industries. Most have partnered with Nvidia to explore ways to use AI inside factories, hospitals and logistics networks and stay ahead of rising competition from China.
Source: businesstimes.com.sg
Compiled from international media by the SCI.AI editorial team.
