China blocks SoftBank's $5.4 billion purchase of ABB's robotics unit

· Tech · China · Switzerland

China has blocked SoftBank Group's $5.4 billion acquisition of the robotics unit of ABB, the Swiss-Swedish electrical and automation technology company. The decision came from the Office of the Working Mechanism for Foreign Investment Security Review, part of the National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planning body. The deal would have moved ABB's industrial robotics business into SoftBank's hands at a time when robotics and automation are increasingly tied to AI investment. The block adds to a pattern of Chinese security reviews reshaping cross-border technology deals. Neither the specific grounds for the rejection nor any remedy were disclosed in the report.

Why it matters：Security-review vetoes by major economies are becoming a routine risk in technology M&A, and blocking a robotics deal signals that automation assets are now treated as strategically sensitive, which could chill cross-border buyers of industrial tech.

Key points

  • The buyer was SoftBank Group; the target was ABB's robotics unit.
  • The review was handled by an office under China's National Development and Reform Commission.
  • The deal was valued at $5.4 billion.

Sources (original reporting)

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