China blocks SoftBank's $5.4 billion ABB robotics deal

China's National Development and Reform Commission has told SoftBank it will not approve the Japanese company's roughly $5.4 billion purchase of ABB's robotics business. SoftBank agreed to the deal on October 8, 2025, at an enterprise value of about $5.375 billion. The deal cleared China's competition law review in February 2026 but then faced a foreign investment security review. The European Commission cleared it unconditionally in March. The ABB robotics unit has roughly 7,000 engineers, about 500,000 installed robots worldwide, and generated about $2.3 billion in revenue in 2024, about 7% of ABB group total. China is the unit's largest market. ABB formed a joint venture with a Chinese company in 1992. Reports citing people familiar with the matter said Chinese officials raised concerns about robotics data being transferred abroad and scrutinized ABB's supply chain and China-based operations. The wire summary said the decision threatens a key part of CEO Masayoshi Son's push into physical AI. SoftBank shares fell about 5% in Tokyo trading on November 5 as the Nikkei 225 declined 0.5%. SoftBank is assessing what went wrong and whether to reapply. Whether a revised proposal can advance is unresolved.