The news
China has prohibited SoftBank Group from acquiring ABB’s robotics business in the country, creating a major obstacle to its planned $5.4 billion purchase of ABB’s global robotics division.
ABB confirmed that China’s Office of the Working Mechanism for Foreign Investment Security Review had barred the acquisition of its robotics business in China.
The companies said they remain in discussions and are working constructively on the transaction. ABB still owns the robotics division.
China is ABB Robotics’ largest market, accounting for about 30% of the division’s business. More than 90% of the robots ABB sells in China are manufactured there.
The details
The deal covers ABB Robotics, which makes robot arms, automated vehicles and other machines used in manufacturing and logistics. The unit had about $2.3 billion in revenue in 2024 and about 7,000 employees.
Its global robotics headquarters is in Shanghai, which is also a major research and production base.
SoftBank agreed to buy the division in October 2025, with the deal expected to close in mid-to-late 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.
The sale replaced ABB’s earlier plan to list the robotics business separately.
ABB will retain its Machine Automation division, which is being moved into its process automation business.
SoftBank planned to make ABB Robotics the foundation of Roze AI, a new physical AI business it intended to take public.
The decision follows another major Chinese intervention in a foreign technology acquisition this year. In April, Beijing ordered Meta Platforms to unwind its purchase of Chinese AI startup Manus, citing foreign investment concerns.
Chinese officials were reportedly concerned that robotics data generated in China could be transferred overseas and used to train foreign AI models, including OpenAI's. ABB has not publicly confirmed this as the reason for the decision.
SoftBank has invested about $64 billion in OpenAI.
SoftBank is based in Japan, which is in a diplomatic dispute with China over Taiwan.
China is also the world’s largest market for industrial robots, accounting for 59% of global installations last year. The country installed 354,226 robots in 2025, more than nine times the US total, per the International Federation of Robotics.
Chinese manufacturers supplied 55% of the robots installed in China, down from 57% in 2024, even as sales by foreign suppliers grew 27%.
US installations rose 12% to 38,428, the world's second-highest total.
What’s next
ABB and SoftBank are continuing discussions, but neither has announced a revised deal structure or an alternative path to completing the acquisition.
(Photo: Homa Appliances / Unsplash)
