00:00It's Benzinga, bringing Wall Street to Main Street.
00:02China has blocked SoftBank's $5.4 billion acquisition of ABB's robotics business,
00:09according to The Wall Street Journal. The decision comes as Beijing
00:12tightens restrictions on exports of advanced technology to foreign rivals.
00:17SoftBank planned to use the acquisition to expand into physical artificial intelligence,
00:22including robotics used in manufacturing and logistics.
00:25China is ABB's largest robotics market and the world's largest industrial robotics market.
00:31The decision adds to mounting challenges for SoftBank,
00:35including rising debt costs and concerns about an AI bubble.
00:39SoftBank shares fell 6.7% Thursday and have lost more than half their value
00:44since reaching record highs in June.
00:46The decline has erased more than $140 billion in market value.
00:51For all things money, visit Benzinga.com.
