China Blocks SoftBank's $5.4 Billion Acquisition of ABB's Robotics Business

China's state planner has prohibited SoftBank Group Corp.'s $5.4 billion acquisition of Swiss engineering group ABB's robotics business in China. SoftBank confirmed receiving notification from the Office of the Working Mechanism for Foreign Investment Security Review in China regarding the prohibition. This marks the second major deal blocked by China this year involving frontier technologies, highlighting Beijing's tightening scrutiny of foreign investments in critical tech sectors.