China blocks SoftBank’s planned ABB robotics acquisition

Technology · First reported 5 Nov, 03:02 · Updated 00:13

Image: Wikimedia Commons · Robert Wade · CC BY-SA 2.0

China prohibited SoftBank’s planned purchase of ABB’s robotics business in China, a deal ABB said was valued at $5.375 billion. ABB confirmed the decision on 5 November; reported concerns included overseas transfers of assets and data.

ABB said it had agreed to sell its robotics division to SoftBank for an enterprise value of $5.375 billion, and confirmed on 5 November that China had prohibited the acquisition of the business in China.
The deal was announced the previous October. It had cleared Chinese competition review in February but remained subject to a foreign investment security review.
The account reports concerns about Chinese-made assets and data potentially being transferred to Japan, including for AI-model training; the concerns were attributed to sources cited by the Financial Times.
Sources also said a review examined ABB’s Chinese supply chain and included a request to keep some manufacturing capacity in China. SoftBank was reported to be trying to determine what went wrong.
China accounted for more than 90% of demand for ABB’s robotics unit, according to the article.

Summary written by Lux AI from 3 articles

Key facts

Deal value: $5.375 billion enterprise value, according to ABB
Decision: China prohibited the acquisition of ABB’s robotics business in China
ABB confirmation: 5 November
China’s share of ABB robotics demand: More than 90%
Competition review: Cleared in February, according to the account