THE ESSENTIALS IN 30 SECONDS

  • The NDRC told SoftBank it will not approve the roughly $5.4 billion acquisition of ABB's robotics business, first reported by the Financial Times.
  • Reported concerns centre on robotics data leaving China and being used to train AI models; China is about 30% of ABB's robotics business.
  • ABB says the parties remain in close contact; SoftBank declined to comment and its shares fell in Tokyo.

China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the state planning body that screens foreign investments for national security risks, has told SoftBank Group it will not approve the Japanese company's purchase of ABB's robotics division. The Financial Times first reported the decision, citing people familiar with the matter. On Thursday, ABB confirmed to Reuters that the NDRC had said it would not approve the transaction, adding that the companies remain in close contact and are working constructively on the deal. SoftBank declined to comment.

A deal that had already cleared antitrust review

SoftBank agreed in October 2025 to buy the Zurich-based unit for about $5.4 billion, a move that replaced ABB's earlier plan to spin the business off. At the time, TechCrunch reported that the division had around 7,000 employees and $2.3 billion in 2024 revenue, and that closing was expected in mid-to-late 2026. Chairman Masayoshi Son described "physical AI" as SoftBank's next frontier.

According to the BigGo Finance account of the FT report, the transaction passed China's competition review in February 2026 before entering a separate foreign-investment security review, where it stalled. Reuters quoted an analyst at Zürcher Kantonalbank who called the outcome a surprise for that reason.

Why Beijing objected

Neither the NDRC nor SoftBank has publicly explained the decision. The FT-based reports say regulators are worried that sensitive robotics data could be transferred out of China and used to train AI models, with BW Businessworld adding that this could include models from OpenAI, in which SoftBank is a major investor. China is the largest market for ABB's robotics business, accounting for about 30% of it, and the division's global headquarters is in Shanghai.

The BigGo report says SoftBank is trying to identify what the review flagged and whether it can resubmit its application. That has not been confirmed by the company.

Market reaction and wider context

Reuters reported that SoftBank shares fell 6.8% and ABB's slipped 0.6%. A Luzerner Kantonalbank analyst told the agency that a complete collapse of the deal could weigh on ABB's near-term acquisition plans and planned shareholder returns.

Reuters also placed the decision in a broader pattern: it is the second large acquisition Beijing has blocked this year, after ordering Meta to unwind its purchase of AI startup Manus, and it comes amid strained relations between China and Japan. Whether SoftBank can restructure the deal to satisfy the security review remains an open question.