publication

ABB and SoftBank disclose China's prohibition of acquisition of ABB's Chinese robotics operations

On 5 November 2026 ABB publicly confirmed that China's foreign-investment review body prohibited SoftBank's acquisition of the ABB Robotics business located in China, and SoftBank independently confirmed on 6 November that it was notified on 4 November. The broader USD5.375B acquisition was agreed in October 2025 and both parties remain in discussions; the global deal was not declared cancelled. Reported possible government motives involving data transfers are anonymous-source speculation and were not part of the issuers' confirmation. This records the bounded China prohibition and issuer disclosures, not a second veto on November 6.