The key facts

  • China blocked SoftBank's acquisition of ABB's robotics division in a $5.375 billion deal
  • According to the Financial Times, concerns related to the transfer of robotics data abroad and its use for training AI models, including OpenAI's
  • ABB has not announced the termination of the deal and said it continues dialogue with SoftBank

Regulatory block on the deal

China has blocked SoftBank's acquisition of the robotics division of Swiss engineering group ABB within its territory, creating a regulatory obstacle to the planned $5.4 billion takeover. ABB announced this on Thursday, saying that SoftBank had notified it of the decision by China's working-mechanism office for the security review of foreign investments.

Terms and status of the deal

The agreement to sell the robotics division to SoftBank was reached in October 2025 at an enterprise value of $5.375 billion. The deal remained subject to regulatory approvals and standard closing conditions, with the approval process overseen by SoftBank. ABB said the companies maintain close dialogue and continue to work constructively on the deal, without announcing its termination.

Reasons for the decision: sources' accounts

ABB's official statement did not disclose the reasons for the block and made no mention of concerns related to data transfers or AI training. However, the Financial Times, citing informed sources, reported that Chinese authorities feared robotics data would be transferred abroad and used to train artificial intelligence models, including those of OpenAI, in which SoftBank is a major investor. According to the newspaper, the deal passed a merger review in China as early as February, after which it moved to the foreign investment security review; the National Development and Reform Commission was examining the transaction, and SoftBank had been expecting approval until it was notified of the block last week.

Context

ABB operates in electrification and automation, employs about 110,000 people worldwide, and has a history spanning more than 140 years. Uncertainty remains: the parties have not announced the termination of the deal, and the official reasons for China's decision remain undisclosed.