Jiji Press reports China will not approve SoftBank Group’s acquisition of ABB robotics business

On November 5, 2026, Jiji Press reported, citing the British newspaper the Financial Times (FT), that Chinese authorities do not intend to approve SoftBank Group’s plan to acquire ABB’s industrial robotics business. The deal is valued at $5.375 billion.

SoftBank Group has announced an agreement to acquire the business, but Jiji Press reported that the FT said Chinese authorities do not intend to approve the plan. The announcement of an agreement should be distinguished from completion of the acquisition. The report alone does not confirm the formal status of the authorities’ position or its impact on the overall deal, making the transaction’s progress a focus.

The key issue in this $5.375 billion deal is to distinguish the announcement of the acquisition plan from the completion of the business transfer. SoftBank Group has announced an agreement to acquire ABB’s industrial robotics business, which we reported in SoftBank Group to acquire ABB robotics business for about ¥818.7 billion. Jiji Press’s latest report says the FT reported that Chinese authorities do not intend to approve the plan. The announcement of the agreement therefore does not mean the acquisition is complete, and the reported position’s effect on the transaction needs to be assessed separately. This development can be viewed as an example of how acquiring a robotics business may not be completed through an agreement between companies alone. However, the information provided does not establish the legal basis or scope of the Chinese authorities’ decision, or its specific effect on the overall acquisition. Assessing the plan’s feasibility requires distinguishing the announced agreement from information about decisions and procedures by authorities in each country. As for implications for the industry, the geographic business footprint involved in transferring the industrial robotics business needs to be assessed separately from the buyer’s acquisition plan. This report alone does not establish any impact on ABB’s business operations, product supply or employees, and no such effects can be asserted. The next points to watch are whether the Chinese authorities’ position has been issued as a formal decision, how SoftBank Group and ABB will respond, and whether the contractual procedures or completion timeline will change. See the original report for details.