China to Block SoftBank’s $5.4 Billion Acquisition of ABB’s Robotics Business, Report Says

Tokyo: China has informed Japanese investment group SoftBank that it will not permit its $5.4 billion acquisition of the robotics division of Swiss engineering group ABB to proceed, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing multiple people familiar with the matter.

According to the report, China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) would block the deal. SoftBank had expected the transaction to receive approval until as recently as last week, the newspaper said.

SoftBank agreed to acquire ABB’s robotics business in October last year, as Chief Executive Masayoshi Son sought to establish the company as a central player in the development of artificial intelligence.

China is ABB’s largest market for robots, accounting for around 30% of its robotics business.

The NDRC was concerned that robotics data could be transferred overseas and used to train artificial intelligence models, including those developed by OpenAI, in which SoftBank is a major investor, the report added.

SoftBank shares, which were already down about 5% in Tokyo trading, showed little change following the report.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report. SoftBank and ABB did not respond to requests for comment, while China’s NDRC could not be reached.