China’s Working Mechanism Office for the Security Review of Foreign Investment, under the National Development and Reform Commission, has barred a foreign acquisition of the Manus project and ordered the parties to unwind the transaction, in accordance with laws and regulations.
The deal relates to Butterfly Effect, the Singapore-based parent company behind Manus, which focuses on AI agent products for small and medium-sized businesses. Meta had announced in December that it had agreed to acquire the company, with the transaction reportedly valued at as much as $2 billion. [TechNode reporting]