Chinese regulators have blocked SoftBank Group’s planned $5.4 billion acquisition of ABB’s robotics division, according to The Robot Report, which says the Financial Times reported the decision first. ABB confirmed the block to The Robot Report on November 5, 2026, and said it and SoftBank are “in close dialogue and are working constructively on the transaction.”

What was reported

  • The Robot Report says China’s Office of the Working Mechanism for Foreign Investment Security Review prohibited the acquisition in China.
  • The deal is valued at $5.375 billion, according to The Robot Report. SoftBank agreed to buy ABB’s robotics division more than a year ago.
  • According to the Financial Times, as cited by The Robot Report, authorities were concerned that robotics data could be sent overseas and used to train AI models.
  • The article includes no separate statement from SoftBank.

China’s role for ABB Robotics

The Robot Report says China is a major market for ABB, that ABB’s business there grew 32% in the third quarter of 2026, and that about 90% of the machines built for Chinese customers are made at ABB’s Shanghai factory. Lens did not see ABB’s results or filings, so those figures are as The Robot Report stated them.

What happens next

The article gives no timeline or resolution. The Robot Report says it contacted other sources for comment and would publish their responses. A later item on the site, headlined “Industry experts discuss China blocking SoftBank acquisition of ABB Robotics” and dated November 6, links the ban to broader anxieties about data and AI. Lens did not read that item.

Sources and notes

This post is based on The Robot Report’s article by Brianna Wessling, published November 5, 2026. Lens did not read the Financial Times report or any Chinese government statement, so the regulator’s reasons are as the FT, via The Robot Report, described them. Lens did not contact SoftBank, ABB or Chinese regulators.

Image: A green industrial robot arm beside a conveyor line in a factory hall, by Nodosa via Wikimedia Commons, released under CC BY-SA 3.0; resized. The arm carries a KUKA plate, so it is another maker’s robot. Stand-in photo; it does not show ABB’s robots or the events described.